


What Remains

by VoiceofLarka



Category: Batman (Comics), Batman - All Media Types, DCU (Comics), The Last of Us (Video Games)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Bruce Wayne is a Good Parent, Canon-Typical Violence, Gen, Minor Character Death, Our Narrators Might Get In Trouble But It's Hard to Say If They Will Die, baby's first fic, he's just not here, last of us au, sibling relationships
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-16
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 19:13:42
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 25,962
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26502700
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/VoiceofLarka/pseuds/VoiceofLarka
Summary: Twelve years ago the Cordyceps Infection took over the world. Twelve years ago Gotham's vigilantes lost their city, and their leader. Nowadays the remaining members of the family do what they can to survive. But when presented an opportunity to regain what they lost, the surviving members take a trip west. To find what remains.
Relationships: Stephanie Brown/Tim Drake, Tim Drake & Jason Todd & Barbara Gordon & Cassandra Cain & Stephanie Brown & Damian Wayne
Comments: 11
Kudos: 20





	1. Summer, Part 1: Tim

**Prologue**

December 2nd, 2013 - 3:15AM - Gotham City, NJ.

It was very early in the morning, or if you weren’t a quitter, very late at night that Tim recalled the end of the world.

Tim leaned back in bed, rubbing at his wrists as he looked at the six paged document in front of him. Six pages of notes, creating a chunk of text that made his eyes glaze over if he stared at it for too long. He rubbed at his face, seeing the spots behind his eyelids. This whole thing better be worth the future migraines.

Another late night transcribing audio. Tim had been making notes of the conversations from several wiretaps Bruce had given him for the past week and a half. Something to keep himself busy while the rest of the world seemed to be getting more and more stir crazy. A flu or something. Tim hadn’t been keeping up to date; heavily preoccupied with patrols, and whatever assignments Bruce gave him. He wasn’t complaining though. No, of course not. It was almost relaxing to just type and listen. Though, having to listen to Harvey Dent’s mad ramblings, and some unknown Texan with an accent thicker than peanut butter had made his peaceful typing a little more of a challenge. So many slang terms he sure hadn’t wanted to learn, but had forced himself to as he took note after note of the diction and tone in each sentence. Nearly four hours of what felt like utter nonsense. Conversations that went in circles, or just ended with no resolution. Tim was baffled by how many times Dent had thought of a completely new thing to talk about, despite being in the middle of a conversation. Four hours of this later, Tim seemed to finally be done.

From what he understood, Dent was smuggling something from Texas back into Gotham for what he had described as a “total takeover.” Yeah, okay. Plenty of Gotham’s criminals had tried that before. He wasn’t sure what made Harvey think he was so different.

Tim sighed and took off his headphones, getting a slight ringing in his ears. The garbled speech was replaced by the steady sound of rain against his bedroom window. Still raining? It had been raining when he’d sat down.

Gotham had been stuck in endless rain for a while now; no snow but plenty of freezing rain. Not that it made much difference to Tim. He hated the cold regardless. It always made him get sick easier; and if he was sick then he was no use to Bruce, or to anyone. Stupid spleen.

The sound of rain against his window and the warm air coming through the vents was starting to get to him. Tim slipped the laptop off of him, clicking and dragging the document into the proper folder. Straight to the Bat-computer, and awaiting Bruce’s approval. Now he could get some form of sleep. At least for an hour. Maybe five if it was a good night. He found his eyes closing against his will…

It felt as though he only slept for a few seconds, although it was probably an hour or so later, when he was interrupted by a violent vibrating on his lap. Tim snapped awake, kicking his phone off of him in blind panic. The harsh glow of the screen hurt his eyes, but it was the incoming call that made him crawl over and pick up the phone.

“Jason?” Tim stifled a yawn, “What-?”

“Tim!” Jason’s voice sounded far away, as if he was on the move. “Tim, are you okay?”

Tim frowned, rubbing at his eyes. “Okay is debatable, but-”

“I can’t get a hold of Bruce. Where are you guys? We gotta move.”

“I’m at home?” Tim was confused, “What’s going on?”

“Pack a bag or something, you have to get ready to-” Jason’s voice cut out, and Tim sat up a little straighter.

“Jason, I didn’t hear that. What are we doing?”

“Ou-” Jason’s voice was getting more choppy, “Ne-”

“Jason?” Tim was about to ask for more from him, when he heard the dull beep of a disconnected call, “Okay…”

Tim hadn’t liked the tone in his voice. Not one bit. Even as groggy and confused as he was, Tim found himself sliding out of bed, and moving to his closet. Still a little confused on what was going on. Pack a bag? With what?

Grabbing an old duffle bag, Tim started to grab clothes. He wasn’t sure why he was doing this. The thought occurred that Jason was probably going to get him in trouble. Wouldn’t have been the first time he told Tim to pack a bag and run away with him for a few weeks. Halfway through his packing, Tim realized that he should at least tell the others what was going on. To prepare for whatever strange ploy Jason was attempting.

“Alfred? Bruce?” He called out. “Duke?”

There was no response. Sure it was early in the morning, but someone should have heard him. The anxiety in Jason’s voice played back in his mind and he started to pack a little faster. It didn’t take long for him to change clothes as well, all with the odd feeling of something in the air.

“Bruce?” He called again, louder this time.

No answer. Tim didn’t like that at all. He turned and grabbed his laptop and cord, putting them in the duffle bag as well. If Jason was making him leave, he needed to bring those along. He picked up his phone, half hoping to see a text, but Jason hadn’t attempted to contact him again. Not yet anyway. Feeling more anxious by the second, and hoping this wasn’t some stupid forced vacation, Tim moved towards the door to his room, and opened it.

It was dark, as if everyone was asleep. An almost impossible feat for this family. Tim moved down the hall towards the master bedroom where Bruce should be, but he was surprised to find the door open and the room empty. He turned around, going the other way past the stairwell, and towards Bruce’s office.

There was light coming from inside, and as he pushed the door open, he could see it was from the television. Static danced across the screen, leaving Tim to wonder what Bruce had been watching. There wasn’t even sound coming from the speakers. Tim picked up the remote and flipped through channels. Static. All static. Surely some channels would’ve worked…

“Bruce?” Tim called, a little louder this time.

The manor was starting to feel like a horror movie, and Tim was the idiot wandering the halls shouting “Hello?” to the darkness. He took a deep breath and turned around, going back out into the hall, and towards the stairs. Someone had to be home. Someone had to have heard him. He paused, peaking over the railing.

“Bruce? Alfred?”

He knew they had to be home. Dick was with Barbara. Cassandra was on patrol. Damian was on a class trip. Jason was...somewhere. Duke was here, but he wasn’t responding to Tim’s loud panicked calls. Slowly he made his way down the stairs, gripping his bag against his chest.

“Tim.”

Tim jumped so hard he almost fell down the stairs. “Je-! You-! Answer me when I call you!” Tim hissed through his teeth.

Duke held up his hands, seeming very apologetic. “Sorry. I heard you calling I…” Duke looked down at the duffle bag, “You going somewhere?”

“Uh…” Tim still wasn’t sure what was going on, “Jason called. He said we needed to pack some bags. We’re going somewhere.”

“All of us?” Duke looked just as confused as Tim felt.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Should we make one for Cass?”

“I-”

A barking dog sent Tim spooking again like a wild animal. Titus? Ace? One of them was barking. Tim was now starting to get very antsy, but Duke wasn’t sharing his anxiety. Not yet at least. Tim had to watch them walk down the stairs and look around for the source of the noise.

“Get it together, Tim.” He whispered to himself, and moved down the stairs after Duke.

The barking was coming from the back of the manor, where the sliding glass door leading to the garden was. Duke kept walking, seemingly undeterred. Tim kept close behind him, hating Jason more with each passing second for giving him such an ominous message.

“Alfred?” Duke called out, “Bruce?”

They found the source of the noise. Ace was barking up a storm at something beyond the glass door. Something that Tim couldn’t see through the glare of the reflection. Duke now seemed to be on Tim’s wavelength as he backed up, causing Tim to jump back as well.

“Well that’s creepy.” Duke said, watching as Ace turned to look at them, and went back to barking at the outside.

“Does he want out?” Tim asked, although his irrational thoughts were making it hard to believe that was the answer.

“I’m not touching that door.” Duke backed into him, “Ace, come.”

The dog stopped barking and walked over to them, whining and sniffing at them. Tim slowly reached down to touch the dark german shepherd, but the soft feeling of Ace’s fur didn’t relieve any anxiety. He looked around for Titus, but the other dog wasn’t here. Though Titus wasn’t one to bark at things. Damian had trained him pretty well.

“Duke. We should maybe get down to the cave. Jason might be on his way over.”

Duke nodded, but didn’t turn away from the door. Tim followed his gaze, but there didn’t seem to be anything different. But then he remembered…

“What do you see?” Tim asked, his voice barely audible. Duke didn’t answer, and Tim reached out; taking him by the arm. Whatever Duke’s crazy, special eyes were witnessing, Tim wanted to know. “Duke, what do you see?”

Tim was startled as the sliding door shot open, and then was instantly relieved as Bruce rushed in, dragging Titus by the collar and slamming the sliding door behind him. He looked just as startled as Tim was to see the two boys there. But his gaze rested on Duke for what felt like a moment too long. The two seemed to share a look. As if they knew some dark secret that Tim didn’t know.

“Bruce, I was looking for you.” Tim’s courage returned and he rushed up to him, “Jason called. He said we were going some…where…”

He stopped as he looked at Bruce’s shirt. Dots of red splashed across the white fabric. As Tim stood there in shock, he could see Bruce’s knuckles were bruised. Not cut, but it looked like he’d been in a fight. He dared a glance back at Duke and their expression seemed to confirm it. How was that possible? No strangers ever got on the manor grounds.

“Tim. Look at me.” Tim obeyed, turning his attention back to his father. “What did Jason say? Did he say where he was?” Bruce’s concern only made Tim more anxious.

“He said he tried to call you, but couldn’t reach you. And that we needed to pack a bag and go. Then he cut out.”

“That’s all he said?” Bruce put his hands on Tim’s shoulders, but the gesture was of little comfort. “He didn’t tell you where he was?”

“N-No. That’s all he said.” Tim looked over at Duke, hoping for some sort of context clue, “What’s going on?”

“We’re leaving Gotham. Tonight.” Bruce looked over at Duke, “Get a bag, and get one for your sister. Dick’s on his way.”

Duke seemed to take a step back, and then another, before turning and heading back towards the stairwell.

“Why are we leaving?” Tim asked, “Isn’t this a bad time? Two-Face-”

“The infection’s reached the east coast.” Bruce said, so calmly it almost flew over Tim’s head.

“The infection? You mean that flu? Why-”

“Tim, listen to me.” Bruce held him tighter, “The infection is in Gotham, and it’s changing people. It’s something in the brain, and there’s no way to stop it. We’re leaving Gotham and heading to the quarantine zone in Glassboro.”

Tim’s mind was swimming with questions. “How-”

A loud bang against the glass door caused Tim to jump and both dogs growled and Ace went back to barking. Tim turned to see what was happening, but Bruce grabbed him, pushing him behind them. Tim couldn’t see who or what was on the other side of the glass. But he swore he recognized the wrinkled old hand.

“Bruce.” Tim squeaked.

“Take the dogs and go.” Bruce growled. “Now!”

Tim’s legs wobbled like a newborn fawn, but he managed to grab the dogs by their collars and ran with them, half dragging Ace and Titus towards the stairwell. Duke ran down the stairs, carrying three different bags, and looked at Tim with wide eyes. He didn’t ask questions, and Tim was grateful. He didn’t have any answers.

Light shone through the glass of the large double doors leading to Wayne Manor. A car? It sure sounded like it. Tim had to restrain the dogs as they seemed keen to jump and bark at anything. He heard the car pull up extremely close to the house, and spotted the lights of a second vehicle. A cop car?

“Dick and Barbara?” Tim asked, and Duke nodded.

A fist banged against the mahogany wood and Tim let go of the dogs and ran for the door, desperate to see another comforting face. The cold air hit him like a thousand needles and Tim almost sagged in relief as he saw Dick standing in the rain. Dick threw his arms around Tim the moment the door opened.

“Oh thank god.” Dick squeezed him so tight, Tim felt his ribs would crack, “I couldn’t call you. Phones are dead. Duke!”

Dick let go and turned his anxious affections onto Duke, leaving Tim to look over his shoulder. No Bruce yet. The sound of a car door slamming shut had Tim looking back to see there was indeed a police vehicle with Dick’s crummy corolla. Jim Gordon turned his collar up against the rain, and ran up the front steps.

“Everyone alright? We need to hurry before they shut the highways down.”

Their voice seemed to jumpstart Dick and he looked between Tim and Duke with worried eyes. “Where’s Bruce? Where’s Al- Bruce!”

Tim felt his father’s strong hand against his back pushing him further into the rain and towards Dick’s car. Duke seemed to waste no time and got inside, throwing the bags into the backseat. The dogs followed Duke’s whistle and jumped into the car as well. Tim lingered outside the back passenger door, listening to the older men talk.

“I tried to get here as fast as I could. Barb and Gordon are the only people I could find. I can’t reach Lucius or Helena. God knows how you even call Valley.” Dick was saying, “Do you know what’s going on?”

“I have some theories.” Bruce growled, before moving Dick towards the car.

“Last I checked you had more than three kids, Wayne.” Gordon looked over Bruce’s shoulder as if the rest of the family would be inside, “They joining us?”

Bruce grimaced. “No. My youngest is in Metropolis.”

“That’s where-”

“I know. It’s-” Bruce cut Gordon off, “It’s going to be okay. They’ll find us. My daughter’s with my cousin, and my son will know where to find us. They’re smart, and they’ll find us.”

Gordon seemed to doubt this, but nodded nonetheless. “We’ll go in front, you’ll follow behind us.”

“Thank you Jim.” Was all Bruce could get out, before Gordon waved him off and ran back to his cruiser.

“Is that blood?” Dick asked, once Gordon got into the car.

“It’s not mine.”

“I-” Dick seemed to panic again, “Where’s Alfred?”

Tim was pulled into the car by Duke before he could get the answer to that question, but Tim felt deep in his chest that he already knew why Alfred wasn’t coming. He found himself shaking as he sat in the car, with Titus’ head on his lap. Hearing the muffled conversation between his brother and his father. He wanted to pull out his phone and call Stephanie, but Dick’s comment made him hesitate. There was no television. No phone. How would he contact her?

In spite of this, he fumbled with his bag and pulled out his phone, but as he held up the screen he could see there was no service. Not that there were no bars, but there was no service at all. Duke reached over and put a hand on his shoulder, and Tim sat there, stunned into silence.

Finally, Dick and Bruce got into the car, both dripping wet with rainwater. Gordon’s car flashed its lights and drove off, with Dick backing up and following close behind.

“Barb said it’s not like any flu she’s ever seen. She thinks it’s a parasite, not a virus.” Dick seemed to continue the conversation as they started driving.

“Parasite. I’d believe that.” Bruce hummed, looking into the backseat, “Duke. Tim. You alright?”

“Yeah.” Duke squeezed Tim’s shoulder. “Are the radio stations still working?”

“No.” Dick said, “They cut out an hour ago. It all went down so fast, I can’t believe it.”

“What did they say about quarantine?” Bruce asked.

“Uh, military’s trying to cut off the major highways but there’s a refugee camp in Glassboro.” Dick sped the car up as Gordon's cruiser picked up speed.

“Then we’re heading there, right?” Bruce asked.

“That’s the plan for now. Newark and Philadelphia are too far away.”

“Right, right.” Bruce ran a hand through his hair.

“How did this happen?” Duke asked. “Can’t we do something? Call the League?”

“How?” Dick, almost looked over his shoulder, but seemed to remember he was driving. “We can’t contact anyone.”

“What about Superman?”

“Clark’s got enough to worry about right now.” Bruce grit his teeth. “We’re not the only ones experiencing this.”

“I thought it was just the south.” Dick’s knuckles were white on the steering wheel. “Now it’s both the east and west coast?”

“Are we infected?” Tim asked, and the conversation went silent.

Bruce was quiet for a moment. “No. No, I don’t think so. This thing isn’t airborne. I think we’re okay.”

“Then how is it spreading so fast?” Tim asked.

There was silence for a while. Nothing but the sound of rain and the thumping of the windshield wipers. Tim could see Bruce thinking, so he didn’t dare try to speak up again. Instead he rested his head against the cold window, listening to Titus panting. He could feel Duke’s leg bobbing up and down.

They didn’t drive for long, maybe about 15 minutes before he felt Dick slam on the brakes. Tim pulled Titus in close to keep the dog from getting hurt. Looking over Bruce’s shoulder, Tim could see Mooney Bridge ahead of them. The entire bridge was lit up like Christmas. Cars bumper to bumper, honking and inching closer together just for a chance at moving forward. Gordon's car was stopped in front of them, and Tim could only imagine what was going on between Barbara and her father.

“Looks like everyone had the same idea…” Dick shuffled in his seat.

“Turn around.” Bruce ordered, “We’ll find another way.”

“Right.” Dick honked his horn, probably to get Gordon’s attention, and backed up; turning the car and making a hard right down another road.

Tim twisted around to see the police cruiser following them, and didn’t notice that Dick was forced to stop again. But this time it wasn’t cars blocking the road.

“What are they running from?” Dick asked, as the crowd of scared people ran past their car, not even stopping by the police cruiser. Just running.

Duke opened his mouth to respond, but shut it just as quickly. Tim didn’t like the look of that, and held onto Titus a little tighter.

“We need to go.” Bruce said.

Dick didn’t seem to hear him. “Arkham’s close by…”

“Dick, drive.” Bruce’s voice was firm.

“I-”

“Go!” Bruce snapped, breaking Dick from their stupor.

“Hang on!” Dick hit the gas and Tim held Titus close as they carved a path through the crowd who willingly got out of their way. Tim could hear the sirens of Gordon’s car close behind them.

Tim lifted his head to see their progress.

The next thing he heard was Duke shouting, “Look out!”

Something struck their car so hard that it caused it to spin and nearly tip over. The world seemed to speed up, and Tim braced himself as the car’s momentum came to a harsh, sudden stop. He heard the crunch as the driver’s side door struck a pole, and felt the car rock back and forth for a moment before finally settling down. There was a moment of pause, as the occupants of the car seemed frozen by the shock of the crash. Bruce was the first to start moving.

“Who’s hurt?” He grunted, leaning towards Dick and turning their head to face him. Tim felt a chill down his spine as he saw the blood running down Dick’s face.

“I’m good.” Duke was breathing hard, “Ace is good.”

“Tim?” Bruce got his attention.

“I’m okay.” He looked down to see Titus looking up at him. “So’s Titus.”

“Ow!” Dick recoiled as Bruce touched at the gash on their forehead.

Tim flinched as his door was ripped open and looked into the stunned face of Jim Gordon. The old man wasted no time, reaching in to help him out. Titus and Ace hopped out of the car after them; and Tim was left standing on the pavement in the freezing rain, listening to the screaming of Gotham around him.

“Barbara’s stuck.” He heard Gordon telling Bruce.

Gordon’s cruiser had also been hit, but unlike their car, the black and white vehicle had been flipped on its side. The passenger side door was badly dented, and Tim could see the truck responsible for hitting them, sitting between their cars. The driver was motionless against the airbags, and Tim could see blood streaked across their windshield. However Tim couldn’t tell if the blood was from outside or inside the car. He didn’t want to check. He found his legs working as he ran over to the cruiser, horrified to see Barbara bleeding inside, still attached by her seatbelt.

“Tell me what to do!” Tim called to her through the cracked windshield.

Barbara looked around and tugged on her seatbelt. Somehow she was staying calm. “Get me something to cut through this.”

Tim didn’t have to look far. Broken glass was everywhere and he grabbed the largest piece without thinking. Wincing at the pricking feeling against his fingers, he pulled himself up onto the cruiser’s side. Sticking his hand through the shattered passenger side window as far as he could, he held the glass shard down to her. He couldn’t see her, but he felt her fingers take the glass from him.

Nearby he heard a horrible scream. Man or woman, he couldn’t tell. But it sounded wrong. It sounded primal. But as he heard Barbara grunting and gasping, he chose to ignore the noise and focus on her.

“Are you hurt?” Tim asked, holding his hand out to her, ready for her to take it.

“My leg’s broken.” Barbara said through gritted teeth, “I know it is.”

“Where?” Tim asked, looking up to see Bruce and Gordon helping Dick out of the car.

“It’s my femur, Tim. I won’t be able to stand up.” She said it with such bitterness, that Tim felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up.

Tim heard more screaming as people ran past. No one stopped to help them. No one dared to slow down. Tim didn’t want to meet what they were running from, but he didn’t dare leave Barbara.

“We’ll carry you.” Tim told her, as he heard the snap of the seat belt and managed to grab Barbara’s hand in time before she could fall and hurt herself more.

She didn’t have to rely on Tim’s strength for too long as Bruce, Duke, and Gordon rushed in to help. With plenty of muscle, they managed to pull Barbara up and out of the car. Duke slid Barbara over, and lowered her into her father’s arms. With Gordon now cradling his injured daughter, Tim slid down the roof of the car to regroup with the others.

Several things happened at once.

Tim was slammed against the roof of the car, by a man wearing slacks and a dress shirt. Like someone Tim would’ve seen at Wayne Enterprises. But their face….it looked wrong. Their eyes were bloodshot, pointed in different directions. They were bleeding from the nose. From the ears. Tim let out a yelp as he pushed back against the person. He didn’t have his bo staff, and as the person tried desperately to get at him and to bite at him, Tim didn’t think he could just go in and punch it.

It felt like slow motion as Bruce’s hands ripped the man away from Tim. But the feeling quickly sped up when he saw Bruce raise what looked to be Gordon’s pistol and take aim at the man. The shot echoed through the night. The bullet went right between those red, unfocused eyes. So horribly quick. Tim recoiled as Bruce spun around to face him.

“Did it touch you?” He asked, grabbing Tim by the arm.

“You shot him.” Tim breathed.

“Tim-”

“You shot him!”

Bruce held the gun out of Tim’s view and shook his shoulder. “Listen to me. That wasn’t a person. It wasn’t.”

“But-!”

“Tim, I need you to help Dick.” Bruce continued, trying to get him back on track, “Help Dick, and follow me. Understand?”

Tim hesitated, but ultimately did as he was told, and whistled for the dogs. Dick was stumbling slightly, which made moving through the stream of panicked people much harder. But Tim held his arm tightly, and kept his eyes on Bruce’s back. He could hear Gordon telling Barbara to look away. Or to not look at all. Tim took their advice, although a part of him was desperate to scan the crowd, and to look for Stephanie or Cassandra. For the chance to find Jason.

It was a waking nightmare. Buildings were burning. People were sobbing, screaming, running for their lives. The sounds of sirens in the distance echoed through the night air. Tim saw a few helicopters flying around, shining their spotlights onto the crowd of people. It was as if one of Scarecrow’s toxins had been released into the city. But this was far too real, and that made it worse than any fear gas ever could.

“Over here!” Bruce called to them, and made a hard left, towards an alleyway.

Tim dragged Dick behind him, almost tripping on Titus as the big dog ran after Bruce. The crowd continued to run down the main road, and no one seemed to take the same detour they did. Tim watched as Bruce ran on ahead of them, and his heart almost skipped a beat as he heard the sound of a gunshot. He was lucky that Duke ran past him, so that Tim didn’t have to see the body of whoever, or whatever, Bruce had killed. They kept running, and Tim heard the whirring of a helicopter overhead. The spotlight shined on Bruce and Duke for a moment before passing over. Bruce paused, looking up as the helicopter seemed to land on an apartment complex. Tim and Bruce seemed to have the exact same idea.

“This way!” Bruce made for the apartments and towards the fire escape.

Dick seemed to understand the plan and outpaced Tim, getting to the fire escape first and jumping up to pull down the ladder. Without much effort, he started climbing and twisted around to offer the others a hand. Bruce ushered Duke and Tim forward, looking around wildly as the sounds of screaming seemed to bounce off the walls. Tim wondered for a moment how they were going to get Barbara up the ladder, but when he turned around and saw Duke managing to hoist Titus up to Dick, he stopped wondering. They were stubborn through and through. No one was getting left behind.

“Timmy.” Dick called down to him, and Tim finally peeled himself away from Bruce and Gordon to climb the ladder.

Halfway up, he heard another gunshot. That was three now. How many rounds were in that pistol? Six? Eighteen? He hadn’t gotten a good look at Gordon’s gun. Dick reached down and practically dragged Tim up the rest of the ladder and Tim whipped around, looking for Bruce and Gordon to join them.

“Jim, go!” Bruce shouted, and Dick went flat on his stomach to use both hands to help pull Barbara up.

Tim heard her crying as her broken leg banged against the metal, but she pulled with Dick, and got herself up onto the fire escape. The horrid noises were getting closer now. How many were there? Three? No. Five? Did that gun have that many bullets left?

“Go! I’ll cover you.” Bruce shouted.

“Dad!” Barbara called to the men below her. “Hurry up!”

Dick shoved at Tim, and Tim was forced to turn and start climbing the fire escape. Duke was ahead of them now, looking down every once in a while to make sure the others were following behind. The dogs followed Duke obediently, and Tim wondered just how they would convince the helicopter to allow them all on board.

“Dad!” He heard Barbara scream behind him.

“Jim don’t-!” Bruce was cut off.

“You’re the goddamn Batman! If anyone keeps my little girl safe, it better damn well be you!” Tim heard Gordon snap. “Just go! Get them out of here! Go!”

“Dad!” Barbara was screaming. “Dad!”

Tim heard three more gunshots go off, and forced himself to move. To not look behind him. He didn’t want to see what was happening. Barbara’s wailing gave him enough of a hint. He climbed, following after Duke and eventually he reached the roof, where Duke was standing with hands raised. Tim didn’t question it, and copied his motions.

“Hey!” He called to the chopper, which was shining their light at them. “We need help!”

He could recognize the Federal Disaster Response Agency logo on the tail of the craft. They had to be here to help save or evacuate people, and as he squinted through the glare he could see other civilians getting onto the helicopter. Sadly none he could recognize.

He heard Dick and Bruce climb up behind him, with Barbara sobbing between them. Bruce seemed to realize right away what was happening and pushed past the others, holding Barbara tightly in his arms. The light didn’t stop shining on them, but Bruce was used to spotlights, and he kept walking, with a confidence that could only come from the Bat of Gotham. Dick followed Bruce’s lead, and Tim took a breath and kept close behind them.

“We need help. We have wounded.” Bruce told one of the men outside, who Tim noticed was wearing a mask and a white jumpsuit.

“What’s wrong with them?” The man looked very worried, seeing Dick’s bleeding face.

“They’re not infected.” Bruce said. “We were in a crash. Her leg’s broken. He cut his head.”

There was a moment of pause, before the man spoke again. “W-We can’t take any more.”

Tim’s blood ran cold, but Bruce didn’t seem to crack. “Listen to me, Arnett?” He looked at the name tag on their uniform. “If you don’t take us, we will die out here. You can see that, right? This girl can’t walk. She needs a hospital.”

“There are no more hospitals.”

“You’re part of the rescue team?” Bruce was getting more agitated. “You have to have doctors. People to help the refugees. Don’t lie to me, Arnett.”

“I-” The man seemed to look at the group before him. “I can take the girl and the guy but-”

“Them too.” Bruce gestured to Tim and Duke.

“We’re overweight! I can’t-”

“Arnett!” A woman in a similar jumpsuit got out of the helicopter holding a big metal crate. She dropped it on the ground and looked back at her companion. “We get rid of the stuff we don’t need. We can take them.”

“Lin-”

“Josh, I’m not leaving people here!” The woman snapped, and walked up to Bruce, “Give her to me.”

Bruce looked almost hesitant to give Barbara to the woman, but he did as he was told. For a much smaller woman, she seemed to lift Barbara with no problem and set her down against the back of the pilot’s seat. The man, Arnett, jumped into the chopper and shoved what looked to be someone’s suitcase out of the helicopter. It was only now that Tim realized they’d all left their belongings in Dick’s car. Bruce put a hand on Dick’s back and Dick climbed in, squatting in front of Barbara and holding her upright. Tim watched Bruce’s face, as the people in white tried their best to make room for them. He watched Bruce push Duke towards the chopper and watched Duke get in without hesitation. But now...now Tim was starting to have a sinking feeling.

“Where are you going?” Bruce asked the woman as she pushed out another suitcase.

“What was that?” She asked, looking from Bruce to Tim.

“Where is this chopper going?” Bruce asked.

“Refugee camp. In Glassboro. Close to the golf club.” The woman said. “Okay kid come on.”

She reached her hand out for Tim. Tim didn’t move, “Bruce?”

“Tim, get in.” Bruce ordered.

“What about you?” Tim turned to look at him.

Bruce looked past him. Towards Dick, and Barbara, and Duke. Finally he met Tim’s eyes, “There’s only so much room on that chopper.”

“Then I’ll-”

“No!” Bruce grabbed him by the shoulders, “You stay with them. You don’t leave their side, do you understand me?”

Tim felt his chest tightening. His heart raced. This wasn’t happening. This couldn’t be happening. He barely noticed as Bruce guided Tim into the helicopter.

“I’ll meet you there. I promise.” Bruce looked at Dick, and then to Barbara, “You’re in charge. You keep each other safe.”

Tim flinched as the dogs started to whine. He felt himself start to cry as Bruce looked down at Ace and Titus.

“Go.” Bruce ordered.

Ace did as he was told, and jumped into the chopper next to Tim, much to the surprise of the other occupants. Titus however, didn’t move. Didn’t leave Bruce’s side, and Bruce seemed to resign himself to this. He backed away, and the chopper started to shift. This was really happening. Tim had to be held back as the chopper started to take off.

“Bruce!” Tim screamed as the helicopter took off. “Bruce!!!”

But his voice was lost to the wind and the thunder of the rotors. They watched Bruce Wayne, The Batman, stand on the edge of the roof.

They watched him wave goodbye.

* * *

August - 11:37AM - Boston, MA.

**12 Years Later**

Tim woke to a knocking at the door. A very light tapping that slowly built up in speed and volume. The almost energetic tone to it didn’t make him get up any faster. What time was it? He was never up this early. Tim let out a sigh, his legs shifting in the twisted up blankets. He managed to roll onto his stomach, hoping that it was just someone delivering his ration cards for the month. Those peppy bastards were like the new Jehovah’s witnesses. But the noise didn’t die down. In fact it sped up, to his growing annoyance.

“Go away.” Tim mumbled into his pillow, and repeated it louder when the knocking got faster. “Go away!”

“And go where?” The voice on the other side of the door asked. “I live here too.”

Tim whined and rolled again, managing to get himself into a sitting position. His hair flopped in front of his face, and he angrily brushed it back. There was a moment of silence. Tim considered just going back to sleep and letting them break the door down, but the knocking started again and Tim knew there was no escaping this interaction.

Staggering to his feet, he made his way across the apartment, bumping past chairs and the small couch that was their second bed, on his way to the front door. He braced himself against it, his head making a light thumping noise against the peeling white wood. This made the knocking stop, and Tim managed to undo all three locks, and with a deep breath, he opened the door.

“Good morning!” Jason cooed at him, pushing his way into their home. “I’m so sorry to disturb you. Then again, we wouldn’t keep having this problem if you got us another key.”

Tim took a step backwards, trying to shy away from Jason’s sunny attitude. “That’s expensive.”

“Well it’s either that, or I start shivving the door open. Do you wanna explain that to the neighbors?”

“No…”

“Then what’s the hold up?”

Jason closed the door behind them, rocking back and forth on the heels of his work boots, before turning towards their “kitchen.” In reality, it was the unfinished remains of a kitchen counter with a few pots and an ugly outdoor camp stove. The rest of the space had shelving with cardboard boxes labeled with different rations. As far as kitchens went in the zone, it was better than what most people got. He supposed that had something to do with how many people lived here.

Jason turned one of their water jugs onto its side, pulling out his water bottle to refill it. Now that he wasn’t talking, Tim took a closer look at him. Jason looked just as chipper as he usually was. An almost playful smile on his lips. His stubble was just starting to come back too. And…Tim narrowed his eyes at the new bruise gracing Jason’s jaw.

“Where were you?” Tim asked.

“Hm?” Jason pretended he hadn’t heard him.

“Where were you?” Tim asked, a little angrier this time.

“Area 5.” Jason shrugged, “We had that supply-”

“We. Emphasis on ‘we.’” Tim turned Jason to face him. “Together. You told me you'd take me with you this time. Show me how to do it.”

“I know what I said.” Jason rolled his eyes, “But try telling that to your lifeless corpse. You know a bomb could go off next to you, and you’d still sleep through it.”

Tim’s face heated up, “Should’ve waited.”

“Well I didn’t.”

“And you got your ass kicked-”

“Woah!” Jason pointed at his bruise, “This does not equal getting my ass kicked. Alright? Talk to me when there's a crowbar involved.”

Tim chose to pretend he hadn’t heard that. “What happened? Did the drop-?”

“Drop went fine. Got us enough cards to last like another month and then some.” Jason dug into his pockets and pulled out the stack of ration cards, waving them in front of Tim.

“So what’s this?” Tim reached up and tapped at Jason’s bruise.

“Ow? Ow!” Jason hissed, “Look, some assholes tried to steal from me and one of them punched me in the face. But it’s fine. I’m fine.”

“Let me see.”

“Oh you’re so-” Jason bit back whatever he was going to say and leaned down so Tim could look at the bruise.

It was going to be really ugly when it fully formed, but it didn’t look like Jason had broken anything. Which was perfect. Tim didn’t want to have to explain to Dr. Lindsey how Jason had gotten hurt again. He was pretty sure he could only make Jason appear so clumsy before she started to suspect something more.

“So these guys...” Tim mused, as he let go of Jason.

“They don’t matter.” Jason said, “What matters is who sent them after me.”

“How very dramatic. Who sent them?”

“Lonnie.”

Tim blinked, this brain stuttered, “Our Lonnie? I thought-”

“So did I, but I guess he's got a passion for faking his own death.” Jason grinned, “But jokes on him, now I know where he is.”

Tim frowned, “Well, we should tell-”

“Oh no, no, no.” Jason took Tim by the shoulders. “We’re not telling anybody. Because this is a personal problem. We don’t go crying to the guards because of a personal problem.”

“Jason, they tried to kill you.”

“Yeah. And now we’re going to return the favor.”

“Jason.”

“Listen! This is happening, okay? Our girl's already there. The only reason I’m here now, is to ask you to come with. But if you don’t want to come with-”

“I'm going.” Tim turned and walked back to his room. “You’re not leaving me behind again.”

“Fine! Glad you’re onboard.”

“Just…give me five minutes.”

. . . . . . . .

When Gotham fell, so did most of the area around it. Refugee camps could only take so many at once, so many former residents moved on to other cities. Other quarantine zones. Tim discovered this was the case for most people from the so called “League Cities.” People so used to some form of protection from someone otherworldly or just dressed in tights, that anything less than the norm wasn’t acceptable. The quarantine zones were just the right amount of defense, and Tim could remember seeing familiar Gothamites leaving for bigger and hopefully better places. He recalled Doctor Thompkins had been assigned, given her medical degrees. Last he’d heard of her, she was somewhere in New York. Where things were either great or terrible depending on who you asked. Vicki Vale was somewhere in Pittsburg. At least that’s what Jason had told him. As much as he disliked Vale, he hoped that wasn’t the case. There were people from Pittsburg now residing in Boston. None of them seemed pleased with what was going on back there.

Tim couldn’t remember what had made them choose Boston. Maybe it was because that’s where many Gothamites chose to go? It was a little over a decade ago. The details were growing fuzzier in his head.

Tim followed Jason out, feeling the nice summer breeze. If it wasn’t overpowered by the stink of the city, Tim would’ve enjoyed himself. Jason stretched his arms over his head, his red leather jacket lifting just enough to almost reveal his side arm. But no one outside seemed to notice, or if they did, they weren’t inclined to care about it.

“Checkpoints are pretty busy today.” Jason told Tim as they started walking, “So we’ll just have to get lucky.”

Tim nodded, pulling his hair back in what  _ should  _ have been a bun. But it was very sloppy, and Tim still had to blow hair out of his face. He looked over at Jason, who had had the grand fortune of buying battery powered hair clippers off of someone. Maybe if he asked nicely, Jason would take some of this length off.

“Hey Todd!”

Jason and Tim paused as they passed two men talking by a dumpster. Former Gotham residents, Tim recognized both of them. Unfortunately, he would recognize them better with clown makeup and guns. How Jason could talk to them, he had no idea.

The man who called them, a big fella named George, smiled at them. “Didn’t you get draft papers last year?”

“Uhhh.” Jason looked up, as if trying to remember.

“Year before.” Tim corrected, remembering what a frightful winter that had been, “Why?”

“Paulie got served his papers this morning.” George smirked, “Dude’s shitting his pants.”

“I am not.” Paulie growled. “It’s just stupid that’s all. Soldiers are supposed to handle the outside work. Not us.”

“Maybe it’s like penance or something.” George teased.

“Drake, you get your draft papers yet?” Paulie looked over at Tim.

“I don’t think I’ve ever gotten one.” Tim said, which understandably made the two men look shocked and jealous. In the eleven years he’d lived in Boston, he’d never once had to be assigned a work duty.

“He’s too delicate for that stuff.” Jason threw his arm around Tim’s shoulders, saving him from the two former goons, “Listen we’re in a rush. We’ll talk to you later, okay?”

“Ah, sorry.” Paulie grumbled.

“Yeah, see ya later, Todd. See ya, Drake.” George gave them a halfhearted wave.

Jason steered Tim away from them and down the alley towards mainstreet, and Tim found his thoughts wandering again. It felt…wrong for people to be calling him “Drake.” Not that he wanted to be recognized as a Wayne kid, but there was a significance to his surname that made his chest ache when he heard it. It felt wrong for anyone else to call him that. Anyone who wasn’t…

“I miss him too.” Jason seems to have read his mind.

Damian had been in Metropolis. Twelve years ago, on that stormy December night. Metropolis had been destroyed. Reduced to rubble and ash. Tim remembered that all too well. Overhearing that a large explosion had torn the city apart in the surge of the outbreak. Tim had heard there were few survivors. And by few, Tim remembered hearing a FEDRA worker saying they could “count on their fingers” how many survivors there were. And when Tim had managed to weasel his way into finding those survivors, Damian Wayne was not on the list. Somehow the news of Damian’s death, hit far harder and pierced far deeper the second time. It was seconded only to Bruce.

Bruce Wayne had never made it Glassboro. Tim doubted he’d ever made it out of Gotham. As amazing as Bruce was, one man could only do so much against the apocalypse. Tim had heard rumors of the Bat being sighted in other zones. Mostly through the mouths of drunks and those who’d gotten a little too high on their own supply. But it had been twelve years. Bruce would have found them by then. It was another thing Tim had had to cope with. His second father figure, probably the only one who’d truly given a damn about him, was gone.

“Ration line’s not open yet.” Jason’s voice brought Tim out of his thoughts.

They were now on mainstreet, or what counted as mainstreet in Area 1. Tim had been lucky enough to haggle for an apartment close to the ration line, ensuring they could get a steady supply each week. With four, sometimes five, mouths to feed, there was always the worry of running low. Jason was right. The line hadn’t opened yet, but it didn’t worry him too much. They’d stocked up enough to get by at least for a while. And if things got bad, he knew Jason was all too keen to venture beyond the wall and scrounge up whatever he could find. As much as Tim hated that.

They made their way down mainstreet, Tim trotting behind Jason who seemed to be walking with purpose towards the checkpoints. There was no truly quick way to get to Area 5. They would always have to go through Area 4 first, and that place was so crowded and claustrophobic that Tim would almost be inclined to hold Jason’s arm through the place. But as they reached the checkpoint, Jason stopped and sucked in air through his teeth.

“We’re going to have to go around.”

“Around?” Tim followed Jason’s gaze. “Oh.”

A small crowd had gathered near Checkpoint 5, where Jason and Tim were trying to go. Never a good sign. As Tim watched the soldiers moving around, he unfortunately realized what they were doing. The moment the frame rose above the crowd, with the ropes hanging down.

“Wonder who they caught?” Tim mused.

“Wonder what they did.” Jason mumbled.

Public executions. As horrible as it sounded, it was how the world had adapted. Or regressed, depending on who you talked to. In an apocalypse with people striving to find some semblance of society, there was no room for the advanced criminal underbelly anymore. No room for the rogues of the old world to try and take over. Or to try any of their old tricks. Tim remembered the first few months living in Boston had been nothing but public hangings. After Metropolis survivor, Lex Luthor had attempted, and nearly succeeded, in giving the quarantine zone in Philadelphia a “real leader,” FEDRA had cracked down hard. No villain was spared the noose. If one of them was bold enough to try to take advantage of the new and fragile world, then they were all capable of getting up to their old tricks. Tim was there when they executed Penguin. And Scarecrow. And Zsasz. And Black Mask. And so many more of Gotham’s most infamous that Tim had practically grown up with. Some managed to escape. Captain Cold, Cheetah, and Bane came to mind. But not all of them made it very far. Tim recalled getting a bad case of pneumonia the winter they caught Joker. He’d been unable to watch, but Jason and Barbara had. They’d said the clown went out laughing at first, but reality had given them some clarity. Jason told him their last words had been: “Are you serious?”

“We’re going to have to go around.” Jason sighed and walked towards a larger building that had been on the main street.

Tim followed close behind, not really in the mood to see whoever the soldiers had caught. The men entered the large building, which had formerly been a hotel. The lobby area was a bit mangled, and the elevators at the back were nothing but storage vaults now, but it was a nice place to live. If you managed to get a good room. Tim almost lost Jason as a few families walked between then. But a tall red blob in a sea of dirty browns and greys was easy to spot, and Tim quickly caught up to him.

“If the checkpoint’s closed, it’s going to take forever to get to Area 5. We only have so much daylight.” Jason huffed.

“Well then let’s….” Tim paused to think, “We could go outside?”

“Outside the wall?” Jason looked back at him.

“I mean, unless you  _ don’t  _ want your revenge.”

“Alright. You said it, not me.”

They turned down a long hallway, towards the large mess hall which was formerly a bar/restaurant area. Normally, this would lead back out towards the checkpoints, where the crowd would be gathering. Jason took Tim by the arm and made a hard right, towards what would be considered a smoking room. Now it was mostly a public space. Though not many people used it. Now that Tim knew where they were going, he picked up the pace, walking ahead of Jason and stepping into the open space.

There were a few couches around a crumbling looking fireplace. A couple of folding chairs around tea tables with no one to use them. A large bookshelf rested against the back wall. Tim knew that normally, this was where Jason’s people tended to hang around. The smugglers. The dealers. But right now, it looked pretty empty. Save for three shady looking individuals, and one familiar person.

“Sandra.”

Tim was grateful for Jason, because he would've absolutely revealed her identity. Lady Shiva was seated on one of the couches, one leg crossed over the other. Her black trench coat was folded over her lap, and it seemed she was counting a stack of ration cards. She looked up at them as they approached her, but she didn’t say hello. It was what Tim had come to expect from former….work associates.

“Do you know who they’re hanging out there?” She asked, putting a stack of ten cards onto her lap.

“No, we’re in a hurry.” Jason answered before Tim could, “Unless it’s Lonnie, I don’t really care.”

“Hm.” Shiva looked over at Tim, and then back to Jason. “So you heard about him too?”

“Anyone else want a piece of him?”

“Gordon.” Shiva set another stack of ten cards down. “Seems very interested in finding them.”

“I-” Jason stopped himself. “Look, we’re going out. Is the east tunnel clear?”

“Used it this morning.” Shiva set another stack of ten down, “Patrols were high, but they should be changing shifts right about now.”

“Thanks.”

Jason moved towards the bookshelf and started pushing, revealing the gap in the wall behind it. The tunnel entrance that would lead under and outside the wall. Tim didn’t know how long it had been there or when it had started being made, but then again Tim didn’t really involve himself with the smuggling world. With Jason’s new found career.

“Timothy.” Shiva caught his attention as Jason dropped down the hole.

He turned to see her hand extend towards him, holding out two stacks of ration cards. For a moment he was confused, and then remembered he lived in a world where bribery existed. He took the little cards and shoved them into his back pocket.

“Thanks, Shi- I mean...Sandra.” Tim mumbled. “Um. I’ll tell Cass-”

“No you won’t.” Shiva narrowed her eyes.

“I won’t.” Tim corrected himself and turned, following Jason into the dark.

. . . . . . . . .

“It’s sad how nice it is out here.” Tim took a breath of fresh air as they stepped out into the sunshine. “If it wasn’t so dangerous, you could probably take someone on a date here.”

“Probably.” Jason shrugged as he adjusted the straps on his backpack. “I am the romantic type.”

“Yeah. Sure you are.”

Plant life had taken over much of the outside world, giving it a beautiful, it not lonely feel. Having grown up in Gotham, it was almost a comforting sight. Like the world was normal and Poison Ivy had escaped Arkham. Any moment now, Jason and Tim would have to suit up and go after her. He’d hear Barbara over coms, and swing through the sky. He’d hear the familiar sounds of sirens and construction. Bruce would be there. Damian would be insulting him.

But that wasn’t the world now. There were no sirens. No construction. Tim wasn’t sure he’d even fit into his old uniform anymore. If he’d ever fly through the air like he used to. The world wasn’t made for him anymore. Ivy was gone. Bruce and Damian were…

“Up here.”

Tim followed behind Jason as he ran up a wall, grabbing onto the edge of a blown out building and hauling himself up. Tim followed suit, and Jason helped him the rest of the way. This looked like it was a daycare of some kind. Thankfully it was empty of…things Tim didn’t want to have to think about or look at. He followed behind Jason as they moved down a hallway and into a darker part of the building.

“Oh. I wanted to tell you.” Jason looked over his shoulder, “The next shipment’s a bit bigger than we thought it’d be. So I’ll be gone for…a week probably? Just to get it all sorted.”

“A week?” Tim gawked. “What happened to two days max?”

“It’s ammunition and meds. Morphine. Penicillin. That stuff isn’t exactly easy to smuggle in. This is gonna take time.”

“I don’t like it.” Tim frowned, “That’s more days that you’re out there. That I don’t know where you are.”

Jason scratched at the back of his head, probably trying to think of a way out of this. Tim didn’t want to hear it. He knew Jason was just going to do whatever he wanted regardless. He pushed past him and kept walking, hearing Jason’s exasperated sigh behind him. Tim was about to turn down into what seemed to be an office area when he stopped dead in his tracks.

“Spores.”

They had their gas masks on before the word left Tim’s lips. The deadly particles would be scary to anyone, if it wasn’t for the fact they were Gothamites. Highly toxic spores that could either kill you quickly or turn you slow? Typical Earth Day for Gotham residents. They moved slowly through the cloud of particles, making sure to stay silent. Spores were one thing, but it usually meant infected were close. Tim felt Jason’s hand on his back. A reminder he was right behind him. Tim had to admit the small gesture was comforting.

The further they moved in, the more Tim could hear them. That odd noise like breathing in while screaming. So unnatural. How they hadn't heard Jason and Tim, was a miracle. Jason tugged on Tim’s shirt, and moved to go in front of him. Tim didn’t argue, but held onto Jason’s backpack. He dared to look around as they kept walking, slowly but surely. The spore cloud thankfully made it hard for the infected to see them, but it also made it very difficult for Tim to see anything. Like walking through smoke. He just followed Jason’s lead, knowing that they’d done this plenty of times before. Jason seemed to take the long way, leading him around the noise and steadily up a flight of stairs. The old wood creaked every now and again, but it sounded as if the infected were preoccupied with something else. Knowing what he knew about their behavior, Tim felt himself wondering if the infected had gotten their hands on some unlucky smuggler. They made it up the stairs and Jason beckoned Tim forward, turning around and pulling out his sidearm.

The wall on the upper floor was also missing as if bits and pieces of this building had been busted apart. It seemed odd, but Tim remembered that Bane was somewhere out there in the world. Hopefully he wasn’t...whatever was making that noise down there. Tim approached the edge and saw it was quite the drop down, but inspecting closer, it didn’t look like there was a way for anything to rush out at them if they were to just drop now.

Tim looked for Jason and saw him backing up towards Tim, gun still drawn. Tim figured this was a good time, and took a running jump out of the hole. While he was correct that the first floor wall wasn’t damaged on this side, he hadn’t noticed what exactly he was jumping into. The gross, slippery water ruined his landing and had him sliding back and submerging completely. Tim told himself it was better this way. That any spores could wash off of him. But he was still very unhappy with himself. Luckily he could stand up, and he managed to pull himself out of the pond, formed by what appeared to be a collapsed street, and onto solid pavement. He heard a splash behind him, and saw Jason joining him. Good. At least they were both wet. So Jason couldn’t make fun of him.

Tim pulled off his mask, taking in breaths of fresh air. Jason waded through the water and joined him on the other side, shoving his mask in his backpack. Tim copied him, vowing that he’d at least take this as a learning experience. Of all the things Jason did to make a living out here.

“The way back in is just up ahead, come on.”

Tim huffed and followed behind him, hoping the summer breeze would dry him off faster. Jason led the rest of the way through a heavy looking, ivy colored panel, and into a strange building that Tim couldn’t tell what it used to be. From there they climbed up, across a wooden plank, and onto a rusted looking fire escape. Jason moved quickly, and Tim took that as a sign not to stall for anything. What had Shiva said? The guards were changing shifts? He didn’t know how long that would take.

Jason caught him as he jumped off the fire escape and they moved faster and faster through narrow alleys towards the giant grey walls that surrounded the quarantine zone. There was a moment where Tim was wondering if they needed to use another tunnel to get back inside, but Jason led him to a wide brick building and opened a rusted looking blue door. Tim didn’t hesitate and ran inside, hearing Jason close the door behind them. The sunlight streaming through the windows made it a little easier to see, as Jason ran to another door and opened it.

Tim could hear people now. Normal people. Not infected. Were they back in the zone already? He watched as Jason peeked out a window and knocked on the blue door separating them from the zone. There was a moment of pause, and Jason pulled out a stack of ration cards. Tim’s hands went to his back pockets, and he managed to pull out the cards Shiva had given him. They were wet, but not destroyed. These cards were made to withstand a little abuse. Still, Tim cursed himself for ruining this.

“Hey there.” Jason said to someone on the other side of the door. Tim couldn’t see who it was, but by Jason’s gentle tone, it sounded like it was someone young. “Make sure the coast is clear and you can have all of these.” He held out the stack of cards. “No soldiers. Okay?”

Whoever was on the other side of the door seemed to agree with him, and Jason shut the door and waited for a signal. Tim could see a small figure standing by the door. Jason really had just bribed a child. He bit his tongue and said nothing.

“I’ll be honest,” Jason said, “He might be expecting me.”

“I’d be expecting you.” Tim shrugged, “I mean if I somehow failed to kill you.”

“Somehow?” Jason raised an eyebrow, “I’m untouchable, Timmy. I already died once, you know.”

“Yes. Jason I know.” Tim sighed, grateful when he heard the little tapping against the door. “Can we go?”

Jason’s face grew serious again. “Yeah. But you follow me and you don’t touch anything or say anything, got it? People can talk to me, but you don’t talk to anyone.”

Tim frowned, but nodded. He’d rarely been to Area 5. Probably for the best he did what Jason told him to do. Jason took a breath, and opened the door, stepping out into slums of Boston.

. . . . . . .

Area 5 was a lot like Gotham. People looking over their shoulders. People staring you down as you walked past them. That uneasy feeling in the air, like any minute someone was going to run up and mug you, or maybe spray you in the face with a flower full of acid. If he wasn’t with Jason, Tim was sure someone would’ve gutted him by now. He was out of touch.

These past twelve years had not been kind to Tim. They hadn’t been kind to anyone really, but Tim had handled the end of the world pretty badly. It felt as though he had shut himself down, not leaving the safety of the walls. Not getting involved with the family’s new business. So many years he’d spent hold up in bed, trying to sleep off the apocalypse. It was hard to explain. Tim knew there were so many others like him out there. Many who felt stuck and isolated. Tim wasn’t sure if it was the clinical depression, or if he just...gave up. He was grateful for Jason. For Barbara. They’d helped him a lot, making sure he lasted this long. It was only the year before last, when Jason had almost died outside the walls, that Tim seemed to pull himself back up. There were a lot of hiccups, but he had been improving. Even now, he was greatly outside of his comfort zone. But he felt so far behind. So out of the loop. Like he was still seventeen years old, curled up as small as he could be to hide from the steadily approaching dystopia. 

He kept close to his brother, making sure to keep his head down and to avoid eye contact. It seemed to work just fine. No one approached him. No one got angry with him, which was good. The last thing Tim needed today was another man threatening him. Jason guided them through what appeared to be a marketplace. Making sure they were going as quickly as possible.

There were a lot of people selling things in Area 5. Tools, clothes, broken furniture, machinery that clearly didn’t work anymore. Tim even saw dogs for sale. No one was exchanging money though. It was all cards. It looked like people were desperate to sell just about anything, just at a chance to get more ration cards. It made the almost cartoonishly irrational side of Tim’s brain all the more nervous. Sure, yes, it would be nearly impossible, what with the apocalypse and all; but he was 10% sure that somewhere in this district, people would be selling organs. He hadn’t seen any, and he was 90% sure this was only a fabrication of his mind, but there was nothing to say it wasn’t going on. Did he really want to risk that 10%? Tim was missing enough organs as it was, he did not need someone to steal his kidneys, or sell off his teeth.

A few people stopped them to talk to Jason, and all the while Tim looked at the ground, his shoes, or anywhere that wasn’t at the person talking. A few people asked Jason about merchandise. Some asked him if he wanted to buy from them. Jason turned them down with a swiftness that Tim envied. Jason wasn’t one to get trapped in meaningless conversation. They were stopped again when a woman approached Jason asking him something in Spanish. Tim didn’t have time to hear it, as Jason nudged him in the direction of a tunnel made from a hollowed out bus.

Tim did what he was told, stepping into the structure and looking over his shoulder to wait for Jason. When it seemed the conversation was still ongoing, Tim took a few steps forward, looking out the bus’ windows. It looked like there was some sort of fighting ring there. Tim could spot the splatter on the ground. Were people fighting for ration cards? Well...he supposed people were willing to do anything here to get a leg up on everyone else.

“Hey.” A big, burly man, sitting in what would’ve been the driver’s seat stood up and stared at Tim. “Where do you think you’re going?”

Tim panicked. “Uh-”

“He’s with me, Hugo. Sit down.”

Tim’s anxiety vanished the moment he heard her voice.

“Oh.” The big man turned around, “My bad, Steph. Sorry. Go on ahead.”

Tim all but rushed towards her. Stephanie had her hands on her hips, and she looked annoyed. Probably because she’d been waiting for them to show up. Tim didn’t get to have any friendly greeting with her as she turned and hopped off the bus, her blonde bob bouncing as she did. The grass stuck to her sneakers told him she’d been outside recently. But he didn’t dare bring up how that made him feel.

“Where were you guys? I’ve been waiting forever!” Stephanie huffed, as Tim followed her out. She went to grab him by the waist but paused, “Why are you wet?”

“Um.” Tim looked over his shoulder, but there was no sign of Jason. “We got held up, and had to go around.”

“Around?”

“Like…” Tim lowered his voice, “Outside.”

“You went outside?” Stephanie exclaimed, with seemingly no care for how loud she sounded. She looked like she didn’t believe him. He didn’t blame her, “And that explains why you’re wet, how?”

Tim thought fast, “I fell in a puddle.”

“With your whole body?”

Tim did not think fast enough. Stephanie narrowed her eyes, ready to bury him with several more questions. The thumping of boots over metal drew her attention away, and spared Tim any added embarrassment.

“Hey.” Jason hopped off the bus, looking from Tim to Stephanie, “What I miss?”

“You went outside?” Stephanie asked.

“Yeah. The checkpoint was blocked.” Jason shrugged, “Tim suggested it.”

“This guy?” Stephanie pointed at Tim, “This guy told you to go outside?”

Tim’s ears were burning, “I can go outside. It’s fine.”

Jason came in to save him. “Where’s Lonnie? I thought you were watching him.”

“Still am.” Stephanie jerked her thumb in the direction of a wide concrete building with a shiny metal roof. “He left the wharf, but he went in there.”

Jason stood on his toes, as if he wasn’t already tall enough to see it. “Warehouses. Ah, memories.” He sighed, almost longingly.

“We still doing this?” Stephanie asked, although the look on her face, told Tim she already knew the answer.

“Oh absolutely.”

With Stephanie in tow, Jason seemed to move with even more intensity. Like a bloodhound, let off the leash. Of course he would be this way, considering Stephanie removed whatever impulse control Tim tried to establish. It made them great partners in the smuggling business, but very dangerous in just about anything else. Tim felt like he was desperately trying to wrangle the two of them as they started picking up speed towards the warehouse. Like they were testing each other to see who would go for it first. It ended up being Jason, as he broke into a dead sprint, Stephanie chasing after him. Tim was forced to race after them, seeing as how they were his only way back home.

“Oh this is gonna be bad.” Tim half sang to himself.

He ran after them as fast as he could; over a fence, around an alley, through a gap in another fence, hurdling over an old “road closed” sign, and finally stopping before a big metal gate. Everything was a race. Just like old times. Tim grabbed onto Jason’s backpack to hold himself steady as he got his breath back. He knew he was out of practice, and now it was truly, shamefully starting to show. They all stood there for a moment, as Tim struggled to pull himself together.

Tim looked out from behind Jason to see the entrance to the warehouse. Lots of people were here; almost all of them men. Tim counted at least fifteen that he could see walking around. They appeared to be moving crates, boxes, and barrels of what must be goods to and from the warehouse. Was it all smuggled goods? How had FEDRA not noticed this yet? Or perhaps they already knew and were letting it slide for some reason? How were they even finding all of this stuff?

Surprisingly, none of the men working had noticed Tim, Jason, or Stephanie. This was ideal for them, but Tim found it hard to believe that Jason’s red leather jacket, and Stephanie’s bright purple shirt weren’t noticeable. Even from a distance. Tim kept looking around, wondering where their target was.

“There.” Stephanie smiled. “Bomber jacket. I swear if he’s wearing his own logo...”

Tim followed Stephanie’s description and was a little surprised by what he saw. The Lonnie Machin he knew, the one he’d grown up with, wasn’t this painfully skinny. They looked so undernourished, with dark rings around their eyes. They looked like someone had beaten them; their nose was broken and they had medical tape lining half of their face. Their long, copper hair looked like some greasy version of Burning Man, and they were wearing clothes that were far too big for them. Tim couldn’t pick on him for that though, seeing as he was wearing an old button down shirt that made him look like a toddler playing dress up.

He could see what Stephanie was talking about. There was a red patch still holding onto their oversized bomber jacket. A circle with a large letter “A” in the center. Yeah. That was him. Unbelievable, but it was him.

“You ready?” Jason asked.

“Oh definitely.” Stephanie reached into her Hello Kitty backpack, and pulled out a small pistol.

Tim didn’t say anything. He didn’t have a gun on him. He hadn’t touched a weapon in years. So when Jason pulled out a small knife from the side of his backpack and handed it to Tim, Tim almost didn’t take it. He hesitated for just a second, but it was all Jason needed to take the knife back and steer Tim behind a dumpster. Jason stood there for a moment, checking his ammunition, and took off his backpack, putting it in Tim’s shaking hands. He didn’t say anything. Neither did Stephanie. They’d grown used to this, and Tim hated himself for it.

“I’m sorry.” Tim managed to stammer out.

“Don’t be sorry.” Jason guided Tim so that he was now crouched behind the dumpster, “Just stay there. We’ll be right back.”

Tim managed to make eye contact with Stephanie. She didn’t look upset, but Tim couldn’t read her expression with any ounce of certainty. She didn’t say anything to him, and Tim held Jason’s backpack as he watched Stephanie and Jason walk through the gate.

“Hey, this is a work zone.” He heard someone call out to them. “You can’t be here.”

“I wanna talk to a guy called Anarky.” Jason shouted, and Tim held their backpack against him.

Calling a former hero or villain out by their name, was almost a death sentence in this new world. If you were a hero, FEDRA would find you and put you to work until you either died, or became too broken and bruised to be useful. He knew that was the case for a few heroes. Gotham Girl, Wildcat, Metamorpho, Martian Manhunter, Vixen. Tim remembered hearing that Red Tornado had literally broken down with no way to restore him somewhere in California. How that had happened Tim had no idea, but it was horrible nonetheless.

If you were a villain...Fedra would make room on those gallows for you.

“There’s no one by that name here.” He heard someone call out.

“Really?” Jason asked, “Because I’m pretty sure the two guys who tried to kill me today said they worked for Anarky. And they said he worked here.”

There was a beat for silence and Tim considered peeking out from behind his hiding place. But then he heard Lonnie Machin’s voice.

“Todd.” Lonnie sounded nervous, “I think you’re confused here. There’s no-”

“Let’s talk, Machin.” Stephanie said. “Privately.”

“I-” Lonnie seemed to stammer, “No. I don’t think I will.”

“Why don’t you turn around and walk back through that gate?” Someone else said.

“Because I don’t want to.” Jason huffed, “Because your friend tried to have me killed.”

“Go away.” Lonnie snapped. “Before I actually put you down.”

Tim took a deep breath, and covered his ears. Here it comes.

“You know.” Stephanie said. “A bullet in the head is really gonna mess up your extensions.”

The first few gunshots were probably warning shots. But Tim knew that Stephanie and Jason wouldn’t take that lightly. Tim sat crouched behind cover as he listened to the exchange of lead, and the cries of men enraged and men in pain. The fire fight felt as though it lasted longer, though in reality it was probably a matter of seconds. Over the noise he could hear Lonnie shouting.

“Let’s just talk, Todd!”

“Oh now you wanna talk!? Okay!” Tim heard Jason scoff but the gunfire continued, “Okay I’ll wait!”

“Listen!” Lonnie shouted, “This is just a big misunderstanding!”

“I can’t hear you! Because you’re still shooting at me!!!” Jason snapped.

Tim kept crouched as he eventually heard the number of shots decreasing and the pained cries of those hit. But he didn’t move from his spot. Didn’t dare peek to get a better look. He was content staying right where he was. When the shooting came to a sudden halt, that was when Tim got really nervous. Had they stopped? Had they given up? Or had Stephanie and Jason gotten their fill of violence?

“Jesus, Cass.” Tim’s head snapped up when he heard Jason again, “Couldn’t let me have this one?”

“Oh sorry. I thought...sorry.”

Tim popped up from behind his dumpster, eager to see what had become of his girlfriend and siblings. Jason and Stephanie were seemingly unharmed, the two of the peering up from behind wooden crates. Stephanie looked a lot happier to see Cass than Jason did, but Tim assumed Jason was being pouty. It wouldn’t be the first time Cassandra stole a victory from Jason, and Tim was pretty sure it wouldn’t be the last.

Cassandra was standing in the center of carnage. Men groaning and holding their injured body parts around her. Somehow, no one was dead. Bleeding, sure, but not dead. She had a fistful of Lonnie’s hair, her other fist raised to hit him again. It looked like she had knocked him out cold. Given him a few new bruises, or maybe that was a broken jaw. Cass blew a lock of hair from her face, and dropped Lonnie, who landed with a hard thud against the ground.

“You could’ve at least let me shoot him once.” Jason put his hands on his hips.

“I’m sorry.” Cass held up her hands, apologetically, “I thought you were in trouble.”

Jason sighed, “It’s fine. Whatever. Tim, come here.”

Tim did as he was told, slinking over to Jason like a nervous puppy. Cass greeted him, waved as he approached, and Tim tried to ignore the blood on her taped up knuckles. Jason turned around, obviously disappointed, and took back his backpack. Tim fidgeted as he watched the injured men on the ground. Now what? What were they supposed to do with Lonnie? Did they have to run for it? All those gunshots would’ve alerted someone. This wasn’t like Gotham, they couldn’t just string them up and leave them for the police. Tim knew they’d seen their faces. What were they supposed to do?

“Tim,” Jason said softly so the girls wouldn’t hear him, “Relax. They won’t bother us again.”

Tim wasn’t sure he believed that, but he nodded along. He could at least pretend not to be nervous.

“Where have you been?” Jason asked Cassandra, “I haven’t seen you all day. You can’t be hopping rooftops. The soldiers will find you.”

“They have to catch her first,” Stephanie and Cass high fived.

“I wasn’t doing that,” Cass stuck her hands in the pocket of what would have been a hoodie. The sleeves had been so mangled that Cass had cut them off entirely, showing off her arms. She was almost as muscular as Jason, and that was saying a lot.

“Well where were you? You gotta tell me where you’ll be, we’ve talked about this.” Jason told her.

“I was just exploring near the wharf.” Cass shrugged, “But then she found me, and we had lunch.”

“She?” Stephanie asked, and Cassandra jerked her head in Jason’s direction.

Jason seemed ready to say something when he paused, looking behind Tim.

“Barb.” Jason said, and Tim spun around.

Barbara was standing a few feet away. How long she’d been watching them Tim didn’t know, but he wouldn’t put it past her to do something like that. She approached them, her limp slightly showing as she moved. She’d cut her hair again, making it even shorter than the last time he’d seen her. And he hadn’t seen her in quite a while. She smiled softly, putting her hands in the pockets of her baggy cargo pants.

“Jason. Tim. Steph.” Barbara looked at each of them in turn. “The gang’s all here.”

“Yeah.” Jason looked at her, and then behind him towards Lonnie, “Look I know you were looking for him too, but I kinda called dibs first so-”

“I was looking for you.” Barbara waved him off, “I heard Machin was sending guys after you. Though I guess I didn’t have to worry much.”

“Where’ve you been, Babs?” Stephanie asked, folding her arms across her chest. “Pretty sure the last time I saw you was oh…two weeks ago.”

Barbara seemed to take the jab in stride, and gave a small shrug. “I know you’re upset, and I’m sorry. I had to lay low for a bit. Protect my identity.”

“As Batgirl or as a Firefly?” Jason asked.

Fireflies. That was all anyone seemed to be talking about in Boston lately. The Fireflies were here. Tim couldn’t say he knew too much about them. The first time he’d heard of them, was about a year or so into the outbreak. When he and his family were still living in the Glassboro refugee camp. Tim had only half heard their messages. The call to restore the government. To take FEDRA’s power down a few pegs. Tim had heard about the riots they’d caused. The aftermath of those riots. They wanted to restore order. Tim could respect that.

He understood why Barbara joined up with them. Wanting to help the world. It was what they’d all done for most of their lives. But here in the quarantine cities, under FEDRA’s watchful eye, calling yourself a Firefly was almost as dangerous as claiming you were the villain Firefly. Most of them were killed, the minute someone exposed them. He supposed that was the real reason he hadn’t joined up with them himself. Some selfish need to preserve his life. He was dead as Red Robin, but he was deader as a Firefly. It was cowardly, but Tim had long outgrown the shame it brought him.

“Listen.” Barbara sighed, “It was complicated. But I’m here now, and I’m asking you to come with me.”

“Why?” Stephanie asked.

“You in trouble?” Jason asked.

“No. I just-” Barbara shook her head, “I have something to show you. I can’t explain, you just have to see it.”

Stephanie looked at Jason and Tim followed her example. Jason seemed to think for a moment, and finally spoke up.

“I’m still mad at you.” He told Barbara.

“I know, Jason, I know. I’m so-” Jason held up his hand to stop her.

“But I’m glad you’re here.” He told her, “Just...don’t disappear like that again. Okay?”

There was a pause between the two of them, and Tim shuffled around, waiting for a signal. Finally Jason put his pack back on, and gestured to Barbara.

“Alright. Show us this thing.”

. . . . . . .

“Barb how much longer?”

“Not much further, Jason. Just up here.”

“You said that like three blocks ago.”

Tim trekked behind Barbara as the group made their way through Area 1. It was one of the better areas in Boston; close to the wall, and blocked off from the ocean by military quarters. It made it one of the better defended areas in Boston, and as such, people were more inclined to follow the rules here, than they did in Area 5. Tim could see the big grey wall looming over them. It was an impressive structure as far as the apocalypse was concerned. As Tim watched, he could see people moving around up there. He wondered what the view was like.

“Barb?” Jason called to her again.

“It’s still some distance Jason.” Barbara was being very patient. Considering she was like an older sister to the rest of them, this put her on a saintly pedestal.

“No it’s not that. You’re good now, right? That means you can come home?”

“I...yeah.” Barbara gave him a bright smile, “Yeah I can come home now.”

“Cool. We got some dehydrated spaghetti we’ve been meaning to use.” Jason seemed to perk up, “But now that you’re back, we can have it. Call it a celebration. But you have to make it.”

“I have to make it?”

“Yeah. So you can  _ literally  _ make it up to me.”

Barbara snorted, but didn’t say anything. Tim felt himself relaxing. It was like she hadn’t been gone for that long. Her and Jason leading the pack, with the rest of them forced to tag along. It had been that way for a while. It made for an interesting family structure, but structure nonetheless.

Barbara turned a corner, leading them down a narrow alley before eventually reaching a faded yellow building. Tim couldn’t make out the broken neon sign on the front, but Stephanie seemed to know what this used to be. He could hear her excited gasps.

“You live in a pizzeria?”

Barbara laughed, “Well. It was a pizzeria.”

“Okay, okay.” Stephanie bounced in place. “But are the ovens still working?”

“You know, I haven’t checked. Maybe?”

“Then what the hell are we doing just strolling around?! Move aside!” Stephanie sprinted for the building, dragging Cass along with her.

“No- Steph! It’s not- and she’s gone.”

Tim watched as the two girls all but threw open the big double doors and headed inside. Tim felt a little bad for whoever was calling that place home now. They were about to get a very...enthusiastic visitor.

“This is awfully close to…” Jason stopped himself, and quickened his pace to walk beside Barbara. “Why are we here?”

“We found something outside. Well. _ I  _ found something.” Barbara held her hand up before Jason could interrupt. “I’m fine. It was fine. But, I found...well you have to see. You’re not going to believe me otherwise.”

“You know you keep saying that and it just gets more cryptic.” Jason muttered and Barbara playfully swatted him.

The pizzeria was now some sort of clinic. Tim could see bags and cots lined around the area. Some had people in them. Some didn’t. The doors leading to the kitchen area had been painted over with the FEDRA logo. Most of the people he saw in this room looked like people with minor injuries. Scraps, bruises, Tim saw one man with a broken nose. There were three people in FEDRA uniforms working. At least what Tim could see.

“You live...here?” Tim asked, looking around at the sick and injured. “Are you okay?”

“I don’t really live here, I just stay here sometimes. It’s a free bed and they don’t ask questions.”

“Okay so what’s here that’s so special?” Jason asked.

“One sec.” Barbara approached what looked to be the cashier’s counter and flagged down one of the FEDRA workers. They seemed to talk quietly with each other. Or maybe it was normal volume. Tim couldn’t tell because there was a crying child nearby.

“She tell you what this is about?” Jason asked Cass, who was holding Stephanie by the hand.

“No. Just that she found someone outside the wall.” Cass said softly.

“Someone we know?” Stephanie asked, “You think it’s like, god I don’t know, who escaped recently? Nygma?”

“Could be Selina.” Jason mused.

“Could be Dick.” Tim said.

Jason huffed. “Wouldn’t that be funny…”

Tim wanted to say something but stopped himself. He didn’t want to have this argument.

Barbara waved them over and she picked up a small key leading them towards the back and up a small flight of stairs. Tim wondered what lucky bastards could live above a pizza place before the apocalypse came. This seemed to be where Barbara lived, as she turned and unlocked a door leading to a rather quaint loft apartment.

“Oh so this is why you haven’t come home.” Jason said as they walked inside, “You’ve been spoiled.”

“Ha ha. No. This isn’t my place. It’s like a safehouse.”

“For who? Fireflies?” Stephanie asked, looking around at the sparse decor, “You have a safehouse. Above a public clinic. With like three guys who want to kill you sitting below you?”

“Two guys. One of them is ours.”

“Okay, two guys and a double agent who might want to kill you.” Stephanie corrected herself.

“Sometimes you have to be bold.” Barbara sighed, “Anyway, just relax for a minute, I need to check on the surprise.”

“Barbara.” Jason groaned. “I think it’s done being a surprise. Unless it’s a dog. Then I will be as surprised as you want.”

Tim looked around the loft, which seemed pretty barren. The kitchen space looked barely used. The three couches were covered in plastic and collecting dust. There was a broken tv screen against a wall. There was a stain on the carpet that Tim was pretty sure wasn’t blood. But it sure did look like it. There appeared to be other rooms, but Tim couldn’t see into them. It was only when he went to sit on the couch that he noticed something peculiar. A green jacket. A rather large jacket too. It looked well worn, with patches and stitches that held the thing together as much as possible. Tim narrowed his eyes. It looked like someone Jason’s size wore a coat like this.

“Barbara. Do you have...company over?” Tim asked.

Jason’s head snapped in Tim’s direction, spotting the jacket as well. Jason looked all too giddy with the concept. “Barb, is one of your little rebel friends here, or are you seeing someone?”  
“What? No!” Barbara pointed at the couches as if commanding a pack of dogs, “Sit! Relax!”

“Barbara?” A voice came from another room. A man’s voice.

Barbara froze, and Jason seemed to go from playful to serious, like a switch turned on.

“Do I need to get my gun out?” Jason asked.

“Don’t you dare.” Barbara hissed. “I’m in here! Got something for you!”

Tim heard someone moving around. Footsteps getting closer.

“Barbara, you really need to show me which faucets work, that was a nightmare....”

A man slowly, almost nervously stepped into view. Tall, with broad shoulders like Jason. Wearing a white shirt, and sweatpants. A stern looking face, with thick, black eyebrows. His hair cut short, and looking slightly disheveled. They all stared at each other. Tim’s brain misfired a few times, just looking at them.

“Bruce…?”

No. It couldn’t be, although they looked so similar. But this man wasn’t as fair as Bruce. Wasn’t as old as Bruce would be by now. No, they were young looking. And those eyes...they met Tim’s. They studied him for a moment, cold and calculating. Tim felt a familiar feeling creep it’s way into his very soul.

“No…” Tim breathed, he found himself shaking his head in disbelief, “No you’re not.”

The man cracked a familiar, painfully familiar, sideways smile. Made a noise that made Tim start shaking. His heart raced.

“Tt. I’m flattered, Drake. But no.”

There was a beat. Where it all seemed to sink in.

“Holy….” Jason started.

“....shit.” Stephanie finished.

Tim moved forward on shaky legs.

He quickly burst into tears.

“Damian.”


	2. Summer, Part 2: Stephanie

**Twelve Years Prior**

December 2nd 2013 - 2:30AM - Gotham City, NJ

It had been the end of her shift, for a little job called vigilantism, that Stephanie remembered the beginning of the end.

Stephanie was free. Finally. She loved her uniform, truly she did. What other Gotham hero wore this much purple? But damn if it wasn’t hard to get off. All those straps and belts. She had no idea how the boys did it; especially with how skin tight Nightwing’s suit was. Stephanie kicked her other boot towards the mangled pile of clothes as she walked past, falling back onto her bed in relief. She was pretty sure if Bruce was here, he’d be scolding her about taking care of her things. Though if Bruce was here, Stephanie was sure she’d be lecturing him on breathable fabric. Or at least on giving them a summer uniform. 

Batman in shorts. Shorts and sandals. What a sight that would be. Though, considering the Robin uniforms… Oh no. Now she was thinking of Nightwing and Red Hood in those ridiculous scaly short shorts. That was not something she thought she needed to think of, but now she was thinking it nonetheless. Stephanie sighed, trying to shake the image out of her head. Trying to picture something else. Would the uniforms not have sleeves? No sleeves and shorts. Like old timey swimsuits. The image felt cursed, but so right at the same time.

Stephanie whined, stretching across the bed like a starfish. Part of her wondered if she should text Tim. See if he was still awake. At the same time, he’d been awfully busy lately. That tended to make him cranky. She was pretty sure a discussion about uniforms would annoy him. She rolled over, listening to the rain outside and playing with the cord on her Green Lantern pajamas. She was exhausted. What was the plan for tomorrow? Oh god, was it a gym day tomorrow? She was already sore enough. Besides she didn’t need to be outshined by the rest of Bruce’s merry troop of crime fighters. She wasn’t in the mood.

She’d just started to close her eyes when she felt something. Like the world hiccupped. This pulse that punched through the apartment building and made the lights turn off. Stephanie sat up. Seriously? She’d just changed.

“Harper,” she called out, “That better not be in Gotham.”

She heard the sound of her roommate moving through the apartment. When the lights came back on, Stephanie sighed in relief. She wasn’t ready for more superhero work.

“What is that?” Stephanie heard her roommate’s brother, Cullen, asking.

“I don’t know…” Harper replied.

Stephanie got up, grabbing her utility belt out of habit. She swore to whatever gods were still around, that she was going to hurt someone. Harper and Cullen were standing on the balcony to their apartment. Harper waved her over the moment she stepped in the room.

Outside, Stephanie could see a bright light. A big tower of blue light rising in the distance. She squinted. That wasn’t in Gotham but in another city. Someone else’s problem.

“Taking bets,” Cullen told the girls, “Magic or metahuman.”

“Mm. Magic,” Harper said.

Stephanie narrowed her eyes. The closest city with overly powered beings was Metropolis. Just across the water. But was this coming from there? Or some city further away? Stephanie flinched when she saw it.

“It’s moving...” Harper said it before she could.

Stephanie watched as the light seemed to suddenly rocket up into the air, getting higher and higher. For a moment she wondered if that was a Justice League member making their exit. They were always flashy. Was Green Lantern sporting a blue light now?

“Maybe we should-” Stephanie barely got the words out.

The explosion sent a shockwave through the air. A giant blue ball exploding in the sky like a firework. The city shook from the unseen impact. Stephanie saw lights flickering off and on. The wave passed them, rattling the windows, cracking glass, and seemed to dissipate before it could hit north Gotham. There was a few minutes of short panicked breathing before Stephanie spoke up.

“I...I should get back to work,” Stephanie said.

“How the hell are batarangs going to help with that?” Harper asked.

Stephanie had no answer.

The fire alarm went off in the hallway. And Stephanie could hear people outside the apartment door. Shuffling and muffled conversation. Harper and Stephanie made eye contact. It was pretty clear between the two of them that the alarm wasn’t going off because of a fire.

Cullen didn’t seem to think so, “Come on!” he pulled his sister along, “We gotta go.”

There didn’t seem to be another option. Stephanie clicked her utility belt around her waist and grabbed the nearest pair of shoes she could find. Maybe outside she’d be able to see how much damage Gotham was under.

The hallways were crowded with people quickly trying to get out and onto the streets. Stephanie followed Harper as fast as she could, but found herself struggling to keep up with people who were panicked and shoving each other to get past. Parents were picking up children and carrying them. A few babies were crying. Some people had pets with them. Stephanie caught sight of a little girl holding a chubby cat in her arms. The sound was overwhelming and it was hard to make out any one conversation. Thankfully, Stephanie could keep track of Harper’s blue hair through the crowd, and followed her out into the streets.

The rain hit her hard; horrible and freezing. The streets of Gotham were not well tonight. Stephanie saw many anxious people, many of whom were dressed like her. Pajamas and robes. Some were even barefoot. Shivering and wet. Couples were holding each other. Parents were trying to comfort their kids. Neighbors were trying to figure out who knew more than them. All around her people were crowding together, holding their cellphones. Cullen being one of those people. Stephanie grabbed Harper by the shoulder and held onto her as they wandered aimlessly on the crowded street.

There wasn’t a lot of structural damage to the buildings around them. Aside from cracked or broken windows. Nothing fallen over, no crumbling ruins. Her own apartment building looked fine. Street lights flickered on and off, car alarms in the distance were blaring in an ungodly choir of garbled noise. Stephanie looked toward the sky. No bat signal. Not yet.

“Hey! Hey get  _ off  _ me!”

Stephanie sucked in air through her teeth and turned to face the sounds. It’d been two minutes into this disaster, could people at least  _ try  _ not to kill each other? But when she turned around, she could see it wasn’t some normal fight.

A guy from her building, Stephanie only knew him as “Balding Spot,” was wrestling with a man who seemed to be horribly disheveled. It wasn’t a homeless person; despite it being  _ Gotham _ , the homeless didn’t just attack people. No the half white, half black uniform was a dead giveaway. One of Two-Face’s goons? And they weren’t looking so great. Stephanie watched, unable to do much of anything as the man managed to get his teeth onto Balding Spot’s arm and held on like a rabid dog.

“No way,” Stephanie breathed.

A few people tried to help Balding Spot, and Stephanie saw the Two-Face goon thrash and screech at them like an animal. It was hard for the other people to hold onto him from how much he was struggling. No...no that was not what was happening. This only happened in movies. No. She refused.

“Steph?” Harper pointed to the distance.

Stephanie saw more men in black and white suits, but this was...different. They looked as if they were fighting each other. She could see them running, screaming, shooting at their own guys. Stephanie could hear the gunshots down the street like they were happening right next to her. She was about to turn to Harper. To suggest they get back in the apartment and suit up. But before she could, she heard a horrible gurgling noise all the way down the street. Like a mangled garbage disposal.

The people in the street seemed to pause. Aside from the people helping Balding Spot. Stephanie took a brave step forward. And then she saw it. 

The large, scaled, hulking mass that stomped through the street. That swung it’s arms so hard it sent the black and white suits flying. Stephanie took a shaky breath. And then Killer Croc turned towards the crowd of people. Stephanie’s hair stood on end.

“Run.” Stephanie said. “Go! Go, go,  _ go, go, go!” _

It was as if a spark shot through the crowd. Running, screaming, pushing people over and barreling past each other as they rushed through the streets of Gotham. Stephanie and Harper could outpace the best of them, but Cullen made it harder to escape the herd of people. Stephanie watched Harper grab her brother by the arm and practically drag him behind her.

“Tell me he doesn’t look more terrifying than usual!” Harper called to her as they raced around a corner.

“Trust me!” Stephanie shouted, “There is no less terrifying version of this!”

“Where are we going?” Cullen asked as the crowd took a sharp turn toward upper Gotham.

“Anywhere not here!”

Stephanie raced as fast as her legs would allow her, as the crowd seemed to have one goal in mind; to get as far away as possible. Stephanie looked to the sky but she still saw no bat signal. Though she didn’t doubt for a second that Bruce was already on top of this. She’d left her phone in her apartment. Stupid. What if they were calling her? What if they needed her? Why weren’t they here now? Someone had to be out and moving already. Cassandra! Cassandra and Kate were still on patrol! Any minute she’d be swept off her feet. Or she’d see them attack Croc.

“Bridge!” Harper shouted over the screams of the crowd.

Stephanie didn’t know what she was talking about, and her pause was enough for the crowd to sweep Harper and Cullen away from her. Cursing to herself, she chased after them. There was a bridge up ahead. One of the bridges leading to the mainland. Right! Maybe it was different there!

Thoughts of that big blue explosion came back to her, and as she ran she was starting to suspect it was a different kind of bad there. But it wasn’t stopping people from trying to get out. People and cars were trying to get over Gotham’s main bridge. Honking and shouting at each other as if that was going to help. No signs of police presence. Not yet at least. Stephanie managed to wiggle her way through the crowd, sliding past cars who honked at her. Hoping to see something.

“Harper!” She shouted, jumping up and down, hoping she would see them. “Harper!”

She spotted blue in the distance, and she raised her voice.

“Harper!” She cupped her hands, hoping that could make it louder. “Harper!”

She separated from the herd, clinging to the railing of the bridge, hoping to spot something. Spot someone familiar. Her heart raced when she saw her roommate climbing up part of the bridge to look for her. The two seemed to spot each other right away.

Harper tried to yell something to her but Stephanie couldn’t hear it. A loud boom sounded from behind. Stephanie stared at Harper, trying to read her lips. Something about...meeting...meeting her-

_ “Harper!” _

Stephanie saw the impact of the flaming ball. Saw it strike the bridge, causing Harper to drop back into the crowd, and out of sight. She saw the explosion, as several cars ignited at once. She heard people screaming. The smell of things unspeakable burning. The bridge shook, swayed back and forth, and then began to groan. The sound of wires snapping cracked louder than thunder. The crowd began to run the other way. Stephanie didn’t see Harper or Cullen coming towards her. That was more horrible than anything else.

She was shoved to the ground, and had to quickly scramble to her feet to avoid getting trampled. But as the crowd ran back towards Gotham, they came straight into the mouths of the things they’d been running from in the first place.

Stephanie didn’t know how she could help. She didn’t think she could take all these... _ things _ on at once. Not without getting bitten. And people were being bitten. Just like the movies. But it was when she heard the disgusting, gargled snarl that she knew what she had to do.

The flash pellets in her belt did little against Croc. It was as if he wasn’t bothered at all by the light. But it succeeded in turning his attention away from the crowd and towards her. That was good. She could work with this. Stephanie ran, hearing the thundering as Croc seemed to go on all fours to try and chase after her. Normal Killer Croc was hell to fight. Zombie Killer Croc? God help her.

She turned and threw one of her batarangs. The sharp metal sinking into Croc’s shoulder. There was a quick series of beeps, and the batarang exploded, sending bits of his tough hide everywhere. She needed to hit the head. She was pretty sure headshots still worked, if this nightmare was going to follow the rules. She backflipped, managing to land squarely on a car, and was about to throw something else at the monster, when he slammed the trunk of the car with both fists.

Stephanie went flying over him, hitting the pavement hard, and rolling for a good few feet. Her eyes watered as she took in a sharp breath. She took it all back. All that body armor from her uniform would be super useful right about now. She’d never complain again. She pushed herself up, but was picked up the rest of the way by a scaly, clawed hand.

Stephanie planted her feet on Croc’s shoulders, pushing away from him as his jaws snapped, and he tried to pull her towards him. His eyes were bloodshot. He was so bloody and battered, not just from where she’d blown out his shoulder. There were cuts and marks all over him. What had happened to him? What the hell could bite Killer Croc and still have teeth left?

Stephanie realized these were probably going to be her last thoughts. She desperately tried to think of something else as she strained against Croc. Her thighs were burning. Her footing was getting slippery with rain and viscera. Croc was going to overpower her, and Stephanie was begging for someone in a pair of tights to come for her. Anyone.

“Get off her you  _ fucking lizard!”  _

Stephanie saw a pair of brave arms wrap around Croc’s neck, yanking back hard on him. Stephanie was mercifully dropped to the ground before she heard the high pitched charging sound and watched as sparks shot across Killer Croc. Enough voltage to kill several elephants and then some. Croc thrashed and screamed, almost as if he was normal. Still in there somewhere. Stephanie lay there, watching the freezing water help him fry. Croc hit the ground with a terrible thud. Dead.

Croc was dead. People around her were dying. Harper and Cullen…

Stephanie felt someone drop beside her. Felt hands patting her down. Heard her name being called. But it all felt so far away as if the world was fading out. Her thoughts were overwhelming. She wanted to curl up and shut down. She felt a sharp pain as she was slapped across the face.

“Look at me. Look at me!” Jason had her by the shoulders. Helmet gone, domino mask half there. He looked more scared than anything else, “We have to go, okay? Come with me.”

Jason stood up, and pulled her to her feet.

“Come with me!”

Stephanie found her legs moving. Jason tugged her along. Through the screaming streets of Gotham. She didn’t know where they were going. She didn’t have the brainpower to ask right now. Jason’s hand never left hers. A death grip. He tugged on her when she looked over her shoulder towards the bridge.

“Just keep looking at me!” he told her, “Just look at me!”

* * *

August 2025 - 5:30PM - Boston, MA.

**Now**

“God, look at you. Just look at you,” Stephanie stood on her toes, cupping Damian’s face in her hands.

It was hard not to shed a few tears. After all, she’d thought this kid had been dead for so long. But here he was, in the flesh. And so tall now! Just a little shorter than Jason. It felt almost unreal. She was so used to the shrimpy version. The angry chihuahua with a sword. This Damian was bigger, buffer, but his eyes were kinder. Though it was hard to tell if that was genuine kindness, or Damian just trying to console Stephanie’s overflowing eyeballs.

Damian gently took her hands off of his face, and held them against his chest, “I...I was expecting this to be a more jovial reunion.”

“Oh it is,” Stephanie told him, “These are the happiest these tears have ever been.”

“Okay move,” Jason pushed her aside, and Stephanie forced herself to retreat, “Everyone else had their turn.”

Jason stood chest to chest with Damian, almost sizing him up. Damian stayed still, watching carefully. There was an almost nervous look on his face. Damian’s micro expressions weren’t as stone faced as they used to be. Eventually Jason cracked a smile.

“I liked it better when you came up to my waist.”

Damian actually laughed at that, and Stephanie watched Jason pull him in for a hug. One of those hugs that was so tight that Stephanie could see the strain of their muscles. Damian returned the hug with just as much strength, and Jason took a shaky breath.

“Kid, you have no idea how much we missed you.”

“Well if it’s anywhere near the level of how much I missed you all, I think I have some idea,” Damian pulled away.

“We didn’t know,” Tim was still crying; and that was fine because so were most of them, “We didn’t look for you, Damian. I’m so sorry.”

“You wouldn’t have lasted long if you had,” Damian held up a hand to dismiss him, “I’m only sorry I didn’t come sooner.”

“Where have you been?” Cassandra batted Jason away so Damian could sit down, “You had to be somewhere.”

“Kansas. For a few years, if you can believe it,” Damian said, the plastic of the couch crinkled around him, “Metropolis was...well you know. There were only so many safe spots. Trusted locations. Especially when Metropolis and DC fell. I was taken to the Kent’s farm the night it all happened.”

“You...” Tim sat down across from him, “You were with Superman?”

“Yes,” Damian sighed, “Kansas for three years and then...Annapolis in Maryland. That was where Clark wished to set up.”

“I...” Tim leaned forward, “I saw the names of survivors. I didn’t see-”

“Any identification I had on me was lost at Metropolis,” Damian looked at his hands, “As far as anyone was concerned, I was deceased. When I went to Annapolis, they gave me new identification under the Kent family name. Clark didn’t want anyone to know I was a Wayne.”

“I see,” Tim fidgeted.

“So, you’ve been on a farm this whole time?” Jason sat down next to Tim.

“Only for a few years,” Damian said again, “We had to leave when the infection came. They wander in herds out west, and we weren’t prepared for all of that. Mr. Kent was…” Damian paused, looking a bit uncomfortable, “There wasn’t time for funerals or goodbyes. The League was rebuilding out east, so Clark and Lois wanted us to go back. We ended up in the quarantine zone in Annapolis, and that’s where I’ve been staying.”

“And you’ve been safe?” Cassandra asked, pacing in short movements back and forth, “You’ve been well?”

Damian nodded, “Clark and Lois have been nothing but kind to me, letting me stay with them. Lois has been raising me, mostly by herself since Clark is caught up with FEDRA. I was unable to join him as Robin. They forbid me from it.”

“Probably for the best,” Barbara sat beside Damian, and he scooted over to let her sit more comfortably, “We’ve heard about FEDRA and the League.”

“What they can find of the League that is,” Damian nodded, “I’ve...I’ve seen good people fall. They’re lucky Superman is nigh unbreakable. Plus immune.”

“Immune?” Tim asked.

“Well…” Damian thought for a moment, “He can’t be bitten. I don’t know about spores. Though it’s not like Clark gets affected by spores or gas often. Usually has to have some kryptonite in it.”

“God,” Stephanie leaned against the arm of the couch, resting her elbow on Jason’s shoulder, “Who even has kryptonite now? Lex Luthor’s dead and that guy had, like, a _vault_ of it.”

“Okay wait,” Jason held up his hands, “Wait. So you went from Metropolis, to Kansas, to Annapolis, and now you’re here. How did you get here?”

“Tt. Well I didn’t have a lift from a man in a red cape if that’s what you’re asking,” Damian said, “I walked.”

“You _walked_. From Annapolis to Boston.”

“Took a pit stop in Gotham of course,” Damian shrugged, “It wasn’t that challenging.”

Jason looked amazed, and a little misty eyed, “You really are Damian.”

“I found him just wandering around downtown,” Barbara patted Damian on the back, “He was half dead when I found him.”

“Hardly,” Damian said flatly.

“Just staggering around like a zombie. Severely dehydrated. I don’t think he’d eaten in days.”

“56 hours,” Damian corrected.

“We had to sneak him inside, half conscious.”

“I was cognitive.”

“You’ve been sleeping for three days straight,” Barbara said, “You were not okay.”

“Wait,” Jason narrowed his eyes, “He’s been here for three days? And you didn’t tell us?”

Barbara was silent. Now it was Stephanie’s turn to narrow her eyes, “You could sneak a half conscious man into a quarantine zone, and under the noses of FEDRA, but you couldn’t come tell us he was even here?”

“It was complicated,” Barbara said softly.

Stephanie could feel Jason’s shoulders tensing up. That building anger. She felt the same. Keeping secrets from each other was something they couldn’t afford to do anymore. They were beyond that now. They had to be. Bruce, rest his soul, had always been keeping things from them. Stephanie herself was guilty of hiding things. They had to be better than that now. Bruce was the  _ very  _ low bar they had to be better than.

“If it’s any consolation,” Damian spoke up, “I doubt you would’ve wanted to see me in that...condition.”

“No,” Stephanie said before Jason could open his mouth, “No, that’s not an excuse. I don’t care what state you were in. You could’ve been in bits and pieces. You could’ve been dying. You could’ve been infected. We’d still want to see you. We would have deserved that.”

“It was complicated,” Barbara said softly, “I’m sorry.”

“Okay, Batman,” Stephanie huffed, and she felt Jason shifting against her.

They were all silent for a moment. Tim wiped at his eyes with his oversized shirt sleeve. They were left to stew in the information that had been dumped on them. When it was clear no one else was going to say anything, Stephanie decided she’d break the silence.

“No more secrets,” Stephanie said, “In this family, we speak our minds, talk about our feelings, and are open and honest. This family includes you,” She pointed towards Barbara, “So don’t break the rules. Especially when you’re the one that made them.”

Jason sighed, gently bumping his head against Stephanie’s arm. The look on everyone’s face told her she was in the right. Damian even seemed convinced, as his eyes went from Barbara to her, and seemed to scan the room for a reaction. After a moment, Barbara leaned back.

“You’re right,” Barbara nodded, biting her lip, “You’re right.”

“Damn right, I’m right,” Stephanie grumbled.

“So…” Cassandra rocked back on her heels, “What now?”

“I think we’ve overstayed our welcome here,” Barbara said, looking around the loft, “This is a temporary house after all.”

“Are you…” Tim looked at Damian, “Are you okay to move?”

Damian sucked in air through his teeth, “Tt. Should be fine.”

“You’re probably starving, too,” Jason hauled himself up, “So...let’s get you back to the apartment. I really want Barb to make me dehydrated spaghetti.”

“What?” Stephanie asked.

“I said what I said,” Jason told her, “We got a half hour before they set up curfew. So...let’s make it fast.”

“That sounds like a lot of running,” Tim sighed.

“Do it for the spaghetti.”

. . . . .

“You know what I really miss?” Stephanie asked, as she poked at her food.

“Food that isn’t dehydrated?” Tim guessed, gently picking out mushrooms to put on Cass’s plate.

“Or jerky?” Barbara huffed, “Always hated jerky.”

“Nah,” Stephanie said, “I miss goldfish. Like goldfish crackers.”

“The pretzel ones?” Tim asked, and Stephanie’s eyes sparkled. Of course he remembered.

“Hell yeah the pretzel ones!”

“Yeah me too,” Tim sighed, “And thin mints. Miss thin mints. Miss Girl Scout cookies in general.”

“Thin mints are like toothpaste,” Cassandra hummed, “Tag-a-longs were better.”

Tim looked more offended than he’d ever been in his life, “Okay,  _ first of all ! ” _

“Thanks Cass,” Jason held his head in his hands.

“If you think thin mints taste like that, you’re _clearly_ eating them wrong,” Tim started.

Stephanie rolled her eyes as Tim flew into his rant. She was used to tuning it out by now. Instead her gaze lingered on Damian. 

He’d been awfully quiet since they’d gotten back. Though Stephanie could see he had been trying to eat as quickly and as quietly as he could. Like he was afraid he’d be found out. His expression was unreadable, and Stephanie could only wonder what was going through his head. Stephanie noticed him looking around, just observing them. It was enough where she had to address it.

“So,” Stephanie said, as Tim continued ranting about cookies, “What’s Annapolis like?”

Damian glanced at her, “Not much different from any other zone. High amount of soldiers, civil unrest, lots of defensive measures…” he paused, resting his chin on his hand, “We have a moat.”

“A moat?” Stephanie asked, “Like a castle?”

Damian nodded, “Dissuades from hostile forces. Plus the infected can’t swim.”

“How’d they make a moat?” Barbara joined in on the discussion, “Superman?”

“Superman and um…” Damian narrowed his eyes in thought, “Another Justice League member. Clark calls her Tora, I think her title is...Ice? Small woman, white hair,” Damian twirled his fork, “She made ice, and he provided the heat vision to melt it. It makes it harder to get into the city.”

“Sounds like there’s a lot of guys trying to break in,” Stephanie said.

Damian shrugged, “I’ve seen them try. I think most people don’t know it’s where the east base of the League is.”

“So...Annapolis is where the Justice League are?” Barbara narrowed her eyes.

“That and supposedly the new President,” Damian said, “Though that’s mostly rumor. FEDRA’s headquarters are there however.”

“So there’s Superman and Ice. Who else have you seen? Superboy- or um. Jon?”

Damian nodded, “Um. Blue Beetle. Black Lightning and his daughters-” Damian stopped, seeming impatient, “May I ask something?”

“Anything,” Barbara told him, putting a hand on his arm.

“Was Richard here?”

All conversation came to a halt, and Stephanie cursed them for their dramatics. Of course he’d be curious. _Of course_. The fact he’d held it in for so long was brave of him. Barbara didn’t move away from him, like she did whenever anyone discussed Dick. Instead she stifled a grimace, which was better than what Stephanie could hold back.

“Is he dead?” Damian stared at his hands, and didn't look up.

“Don’t know,” Jason said, and Stephanie could hear the ice in his voice, “He left.”

“Left?” Damian asked, “So he was here? He was with you?”

“Dick was with us when we left Gotham,” Tim said, “Dick, Barbara, Duke, and me.”

Damian said nothing, just stared at Tim, encouraging him to continue.

“Dick just...he left. He was getting involved with the Fireflies, like Barbara-”

“Nothing like me,” Barbara interrupted, but seemed to realize she’d said this out loud, “Sorry.”

“Well...a bit more involved than Barbara. He didn’t want to be in Boston anymore. Said he wanted to go west. The Fireflies were moving west to...I don’t know where. But he went with them. Duke went with him too. We haven’t seen them in...it’s been years now.”

“Eight years and three months,” Jason said, “Trust me, I counted. Dickie left for the west, and twisted Duke’s arm to go with him.”

Damian was silent for a moment, and Stephanie wondered if he would be angry. Dick had always been his favorite. More than his own father, maybe Alfred. Damian’s first real bond in the family. To find that he wasn’t even here, Stephanie could feel a bitterness rising in her throat.

“Did-” Damian spoke a little loudly, and seemed to correct himself, “Did they say where specifically they were going?”

“Nope,” Jason said through gritted teeth, “Last time I saw him…” he bit his lip, “We got into it. Pretty big fight. Next thing I knew...he was gone. And he took Duke with him. No note. Nothing.”

“The Fireflies wanted to make contact with the League out west,” Barbara said, “Said they wanted to get to them before ‘FEDRA corrupts them’ or something stupid like that. Dick ate it up,” she sighed, giving Damian’s arm a squeeze, “I guess he just missed being a hero. Helping people. He wanted to trek thousands of miles just at a chance of them being out there. I guess...he was always more stubborn than he looked.”

Damian moved his hand, placing it over Barbara’s, “There is a base for the League out west. Two of them. Jon told me about it. One is north of Denver. The other is somewhere in Washington State. Jon didn’t know which city specifically for either of them. But it’s a start.”

“A start?” Stephanie asked, “Damian, you’re not talking about tracking them down, are you?”

Damian was quiet for a moment, “I wouldn’t ask-”

“So we’re not good enough for you?”

Stephanie could’ve heard a pin drop from down the street. Jason stared Damian down, and Damian looked as if you’d asked him to kick a puppy. Stephanie watched Jason, reading his expressions. All this time she'd spent with him, one would think she’d be able to tell when he was joking or not. But he seemed genuine this time. Though Stephanie couldn’t see any sort of malice from him.

Finally, Damian spoke, “I spent so many years just...speculating. If  _ any  _ of you were alive. I escaped Annapolis, through a horde. Clawed my way back into Gotham. All the way up here. Just on the  _ hope  _ that you were here. From a rumor a dead man told me.”

Jason didn’t say anything. No one did. Damian continued.

“Seeing you here, alive, means more to me than anything. I just…” he took a breath, “It was almost perfect. I don’t mean to insult you, I’m just...I’ve overthought this. Far too much.”

Still, Jason said nothing. Stephanie was afraid to say anything, but surprisingly it was Tim who spoke out.

“I’d like to know,” Tim said, “If there’s a chance Duke and Dick are alive. I’d want to know.”

“Tim-” Barbara started.

“Look I know we left it on bad terms, okay? I was there. I heard it,” Tim looked from Barbara to Jason, “That shouldn’t matter right now. We should’ve gone after them a long time ago. We should’ve looked for Damian. And...I know why we didn’t, but this is a sign. That we need to reconnect. We owe it to the people we lost.”

Stephanie thought of Harper, in what must have been the first time in years. She thought of Kate. Helena. Lucius. Luke. Tiffany. Jean-Paul. She thought of Bruce. And Alfred. Sweet Alfred who would be so disappointed in what the family was now. What they had become.

“So,” Jason adjusted himself in his chair, “Say I’d be interested. In this little walk to where? Denver? What would you do? What’s the plan then?”

Damian shook his head, “I don’t have one. I’m running on a...what does Jon say...a wing and a prayer.”

Jason nodded gently, “A wing and a prayer...I think I could get behind that.”

. . . . .

It was voices that woke her up. Sounds of gentle conversation in the other room. Stephanie didn’t move more than lifting up her head. It was still dark outside, probably the middle of the night. And  _ cold! _ When had the temperature dropped?

Tim wasn’t in bed with her, that was probably the biggest reason she was cold. Just empty space between her and Jason. Stephanie tried to roll back, and felt Barbara pressed against her. She propped herself up on her elbow and spotted the outline of Cassandra at the foot of the bed. Jason was on his stomach, close to falling off the edge. Stephanie assumed that was from Tim having shoved at him to squirm his way out.

It was still a little weird. Sharing a bed. They’d had to do this for years, and it wasn’t as though they could get a bigger place or another mattress. At a certain point, they’d grown so used to living in such close quarters, it desensitized them a little. Stephanie couldn’t remember the last time she’d had some genuine privacy. But if someone really truly wanted space, the couch in the other room was comfy enough. At least none of them were snorers.

“It doesn’t work? What d’you mean it doesn’t work?”

Well...no snoring, but there was  _ one  _ noisy sleeper among them. Stephanie slowly sat up and watched Jason mumble to himself.

“Three boxes…” Jason voice was muffled by his arm, “Wh- you said two.”

“Chatty tonight, aren’t we?” Stephanie whispered, reaching out to play with the white streak of Jason’s hair. Jason didn’t react to her, just kept fussing and mumbling incoherently.

Of all people, Stephanie hadn’t expected Jason to be a sleep talker. Just never looked like the type. Although, Stephanie wasn’t sure what a sleep talker was supposed to look like. Like Tim? Probably more like Tim. It had really thrown her for a loop when she’d first heard him all those years ago. That first night of sleep they’d gotten in Gotham.

Jason had taken her to the manor on that stormy December night. When Gotham devolved into a chaos it couldn’t bounce back from. She remembered being so cold that Jason had had to hold her to get her to warm back up. Thinking back, he might have been a little confused about whether Stephanie was in distress or hypothermic, though to be honest she’d been a little of both. 

She remembered how they’d spent days in the cave. Watching the world burn through the Batcomputer. As long as the cameras stayed recording. The paranoia had caused them to lose sleep. Terrified that something would crawl in while they were unconscious. Like children being afraid of the monsters under their bed. But the monsters were very real, and creeping outside their door. Even the squeaking of the bats had made them jumpy. Stephanie remembered those first two days, they hadn’t slept at all. By the third day, when Stephanie had braved another trip by herself up into the manor, she’d returned to the cave to find Jason out cold in Bruce’s chair. Stephanie remembered the initial panic that had set in. The thought that Jason wasn’t okay. But the exhaustion had caught up to both of them. Stephanie remembered turning off the Batcomputer, and attempting to get some form of sleep.

Jason had woken her up. At first she’d thought he was talking to her. But she seemed to recall his exact words being “get it the hell out of my house.” For a moment, Stephanie had thought he’d lost it. That the stress had broken him. But no. 

Jason apparently had weird dreams. Very vivid, often surreal dreams. Like clocks melting and giraffes riding unicycles type of surreal. At least that’s what he’d told Stephanie after she’d shaken him awake. A result of the Lazarus Pit, or at least that was the working theory. Stephanie had quickly learned a lot about Jason the first few weeks of the outbreak. More weird things to tick off her list. At least this discovery was more lighthearted. 

“I don’t know,” Jason was still going, “It’s my first time.”

“First time with what?” Stephanie asked.

Jason finally seemed to register her, and pushed her hand away, “Shut up. You don’t know the manufacturing process.”

“I don’t?”

“No. No one does. No one knows anything,” Jason tried to roll, and Stephanie gently dissuaded him from plummeting right off the edge. 

Another fun fact she’d learned about Jason, he was pretty prone to banging into things. She’d found that out while they’d been in the Cave, and when they’d been out on the road leaving Gotham. One hell of a road trip.

They’d spent a week in the cave. Spent a week arming themselves and fixing the batcycle. As much as they would like to, it felt wrong to use the batmobile. What if someone else needed it? If Bruce wanted to come back for it. It rubbed them the wrong way, and they couldn’t bring themselves to use it. The bike was faster. More exposed, but Jason knew how to fix a bike faster than the batmobile. Stephanie had reloaded their utility belts to the brim. Stocked up on food, and warm clothes for as long as that had been possible. Made sure they’d had an arsenal before going out.

Stephanie had also been the one to find and bury Alfred. She’d picked a spot beside Thomas and Martha Wayne on the manor grounds. She’d wrapped him in the most expensive tablecloth the Waynes’ seemed to own. It wasn't like Bruce had a bat coffin. She’d done her best. With how frozen the ground was, it had taken hours to dig deep enough. A few times she’d accidentally stepped on the table cloth, sometimes undoing the wrapping. And Stephanie would have to see Alfred’s face.

She didn’t know how Alfred had been infected. She couldn’t imagine him hiding a bite from them. She’d had plenty of time to think about it over the years. Plenty of time to find out a cause. But thinking of it never ended well. What she did know was that Bruce had been the one to give Alfred mercy. The marks on the old man’s neck could only be made by big, strong arms. She couldn’t imagine...poor Bruce.

Stephanie remembered taking all the flowers she could find in the house, tying them together as best she could. By the time she was ready to bury him, Jason had come to join her. They’d struggled to say anything. It was hard to find the words. Hard to imagine that this was real. Stephanie had shed plenty of tears, and Jason had been far too quiet. Goodbyes were all they could really give. Apologies that they were the only ones to see him off. Jason had used a plank of wood for the headstone. Taken the time to carve into it.  _ Alfred Pennyworth. Caring Father. Loyal Friend. Honest Man. _ Stephanie was sure they could’ve done better.

By the time they were ready to leave, there were already looters running about Gotham. Jason had assured her that the manor was the Fort Knox of Gotham City. Even if they got into the manor, no one was getting into the cave. Not without some form of consequence. But Stephanie wondered how long the security would last. The ride out of Gotham had been quiet. Miserable.

“Ow,” Jason grunted, as Stephanie climbed over him to get out of bed.

Stephanie sniffed, wiping away the memories trying to fall down her cheeks. She focused on the voices just outside the room. Tim and Damian. She wasn’t surprised. Tim was pelting him with questions.

“How is Animal Man alive?” Tim was asking.

“Not sure. I was never in a position to ask him,” Damian said.

“Blue Beetle makes sense though,” Tim hummed.

Stephanie walked out, looking at Damian and Tim sat on opposite ends of the couch, “Tim, are you-?” she paused, looking at the object in his hands, “Is that a batarang?”

Tim held it up to her, grinning from ear to ear, “Yeah."

The little, black object was a lot smaller than Stephanie remembered. Just as sharp though, and still adorably bat shaped. Stephanie moved closer and sat down, leaning against Tim, who snaked an arm around her waist. Looking around there were lots of old things laid out. Gauntlets, the Robin pin, a few masks, Stephanie’s eyes went wide when she saw the familiar golden utility belt.

“You have all this?” Stephanie looked up at Damian, “Wouldn’t this weigh you down?”

He shrugged, looking at the items with a small smile, “It was...sentimental. Oh!” Damian started, turning and dragging a big grey backpack over, “I also have these.”

Stephanie eyed the pack as Damian messed around with it. It looked like one of those heavy duty backpacks. Almost stuffed to the brim with things. She noticed, and cracked a smile as she saw the little pins and keychains stuck to the pack. A superman pin, a robin button, a red, fuzzy keychain. How long had those been there? Damian rifled through the bag, a look of confusion on his face.

“Where’s…! Oh there it is,” Damian reached for a side pocket and pulled out a metal pole the length of his forearm. Stephanie watched as he held it out to the two of them, “I don’t know if you want-”

Tim grabbed the pole and wiggled out from Stephanie, getting to his feet and holding it upright. With a click, the pole extended into a long metal staff. Stephanie sat up straight, and grinned as Tim seemed completely beside himself.

“Holy…” Tim moved the bo staff back and forth, “You really brought everything, huh?”

“What I could find,” Damian shrugged, “The manor was a little looted when I went there. I guess someone found their way through the security. No one was in the cave though.”

Stephanie glanced back at Damian’s pack, and spotted something blue and black, “Are those Dick’s?”

Damian tugged the escrima sticks from their place, safely tucked into a side pocket. He held them for a minute, and Stephanie watched as the low light reflected on the blue tape. She was surprised when he held them out for her to take. She held them gently, feeling the grips with her fingertips. She watched Damian reach in and tug something else out of the bag.

“Do you think Jason wants this back?” Damian asked.

Stephanie almost snorted, and set down the sticks to hold Jason’s helmet. The thing was heavier than she remembered. Slightly scuffed in places. Damian had really lugged this thing around?

“Oh thank god,” Tim was trying to twirl his bo staff, “At least it’s not the one with the face on it.”

“I’ll be quite honest,” Damian took the helmet back, “I did find the one with the mouth on it, but it was so hideous, I had to leave it behind.”

Stephanie had to remember the others were sleeping to stop herself from laughing. She reached over, smacking Damian in the chest. Damian set Jason’s helmet in his lap, managing to stay somewhat composed. 

They stayed there, in that good mood. Surrounded by old gear. Damian had come prepared, and it struck something deep within her to see all these things he’d brought. On the hope that they would be here to reclaim them. Which was why it hurt to see Dick’s old gear. And Duke’s. And some of Kate's. A part of her wondered if something of Harper’s was in there. She couldn’t bring herself to ask. Stephanie saw Damian run his fingers over the scuff marks on Jason’s helmet, with the same bittersweet expression that Stephanie was feeling.

She leaned towards him holding out Dick’s weapons, “I-”

There was a knock on the door. Well less of a knock, and more of a panicked pounding. The boys froze, and Stephanie shot up, grabbing a blanket and throwing it over their bat-belongings. Tim moved towards the door, holding his staff up, ready to strike whoever was pounding. Stephanie held up a finger to Damian, who looked confused but stayed silent. She did notice him reach behind the arm of the couch, and there was something almost comforting when she saw the familiar sheath of Damian’s old sword. Of course he would still have that. Stephanie approached the door, pressing her ear against it.

She heard movement on the other side. A single person. Heard muffled whispering. It was clearly words and not gibberish, but Stephanie couldn’t make it out. But it sounded like the same sentence over and over. She was pretty sure FEDRA would have more people, and that if, god forbid, an infected person got in, the infected couldn’t form sentences. Slowly, she reached for the handle. Tim readied himself.

Stephanie was pushed back as she turned the handle, and the door opened. Tim went to strike, but a hand grabbed the staff and held him there. Stephanie’s danger sense fluctuated as she looked at their home invader.

“Sandra-” Stephanie started, but Shiva cut her off.

“You’re reckless!” she hissed, “All of you!” she turned and shut the door behind her, “Get the others, you have to leave. Now.”

“What’s happening?” Cassandra popped out from the bedroom and paused when she saw their guest, “...Mother?”

“When you beat someone to a bloody pulp, you have to make sure they’re dead,” Shiva ran up to Cassandra, holding her daughter by the arms, “Get your things, you have to leave. FEDRA is coming.”

“Coming?” Tim blinked, “Why?”

“Because you left Anarky alive,” Shiva said with a disgust that made Stephanie shiver. Oh...right. They did leave him there… “He’s told FEDRA about the scary Gotham crime lord that beat him up.” 

“Red Hood is Batman’s ally,” Tim glared at her.

“He’s a crime lord and hired gun,” Shiva rebutted. 

“Former crime lord,” Tim grumbled.

“I don’t think FEDRA cares.”

Damian slowly rose to his feet, and Shiva stopped what she was doing to look at him. They seemed to stare at each other, Damian clearly recognizing her, but Shiva didn’t seem to recognize him. Stephanie noticed Shiva’s hand instinctively move to her hip, where Stephanie could see a large knife holster. Damian’s grip on his own blade was tightening. Tim seemed to pick up on this quickly.

“Shiva. Robin,” he said, gesturing to Damian.

Shiva blinked, “Robin is dead.”

“How many times has _that_ been said?” Stephanie found herself saying out loud.

Shiva narrowed her eyes, but seemed to remember why she was here, and what she was doing. She turned with a hiss, pulling Cassandra aside.

“You have ten minutes. Get your things, as much as you can carry, and get ready to go.”

“And go where?” Stephanie asked, as Cass and Tim ran to get the others, “If they think we’re here, they’re not going to stop until they find us.”

“Then we’ll have to leave.”

Stephanie looked up to see Jason and Barbara, both already dressed and geared up. Stephanie wasn’t surprised that they’d been woken up. She was more surprised by how quickly they were willing to leave their home. Sure, they snuck out of Boston all the time, but leaving permanently?

Jason seemed to sense the hesitation in the air, “Barb and I will go, and-”

“No,” Tim ran out of the bedroom, half dressed, and grabbed Jason by the arm, “No you’re not going out there alone.”

“If I stay here, they’ll hurt all of you,” Jason said, “If I leave, it might lure them away, and they’ll leave you alone.”

“Oh that’s a load of crap and you know it!” Tim started, but Jason turned on him, snarling.

“What do you want us to do?” Jason snapped. “They will  _ kill  _ me. They’ll kill Barbara  _ on sight _ if they know what she is. What’s option C, Timmy?”

“We all leave.”

Cassandra walked out from the bedroom, changed and ready to move. She tossed Tim’s backpack to him, and walked up to Shiva. The two seemed to share a look.

“We were already planning on leaving. We’re just doing it sooner rather than later.”

. . . . .

It was raining. Just like it had been the night Gotham fell. Less freezing this time around, but the thunder and pops of lightning contributed to the fear running through Stephanie’s veins. She held Tim’s hand as they moved quickly and quietly through the back alleys of Boston, getting closer and closer to the southernmost tunnel, where Stephanie and Jason had slipped out to do runs before.

Boston was always under strict curfew, which meant from 6PM to 6AM the streets were clear of anyone other than FEDRA guards. Soldiers were roaming the streets looking for them, or anyone else breaking the rules. As they ran along a dark alley, Stephanie couldn’t help but look up at the sky. No spotlights yet. No signal. She wondered if FEDRA would even send a League member after them. She would hope so. At least the League might be more understanding. Hopefully.

“Back up, back up.” 

Jason held his arm back and the group pressed themselves against a wall as one of FEDRA’s jeeps moved past them. They had their lights off, almost as if they were expecting the group to stick to the shadows. Then again, when hunting for a person connected to Gotham, you had to use tricks like this. Lure them into a false sense of security. There were probably guards hiding around corners. Waiting for them. 

Stephanie watched Jason poke his head out around a corner. She saw the rain rolling down his helmet. She still couldn’t believe he’d put it on. But then again, she was wearing her utility belt. 

“That building,” Shiva said softly, pointing towards a short building still clinging to its pre-outbreak sign on the front.

Improv Asylum. Some sort of comedy club before the end of the world. It was barely used by the general population. But it was a goldmine for smugglers trying to get out. The tunnel was long, but it led right outside the wall. Almost flawless. Stephanie hadn’t been one of the smugglers to help make the tunnel, but she knew some of the people who did. Not many of them were left now…

They made a break for it, rushing across the street and into the building. Luckily, with it being so late at night, no fellow smugglers were there to bother them. Which was nice. Stephanie didn’t want to have to explain to her ruffian pals why the Red Hood of Gotham was following her around. Or why they all had belts very similar to the Dark Knight. They moved quickly, leading Tim, Cass, and Damian into the basement.

Jason stopped them, and began moving the barricade around the tunnel entrance, “Okay. Once we’re outside, we stay low, wait for the patrols to move over us.”

“Where do we even go from here?” Tim asked, “What’s safe?”

“State house,” Barbara ran her hands through her hair, “There’s Fireflies there. They should help us.”

“Oh joy,” Jason grumbled, but didn’t say anything further.

“What happens if they turn you away?” Shiva asked, “Think of other options.”

Other options. Stephanie couldn’t name that many. There were safehouses that smugglers used out in the ruins of downtown Boston, but they weren’t that many, and they were very small. Besides, nothing was ever safe for very long. Annapolis maybe? Back to where Damian came from. Or Gotham? Was there even anything left of Gotham? 

“We’re going to Denver,” Damian said, “The courthouse is not a permanent location.”

“You’re just going to walk to Denver?” Shiva scoffed, “Fine. But think short term.”

“I got a place,” Jason looked over at Stephanie, “We can get a car from Belmont. Makes it easier to get to Colorado too.”

Stephanie’s eyes lit up. Yes of course! Jason and Stephanie had been to Belmont plenty of times. Actually making friends with the...she guessed she could call them the owners, of the town. Shiva seemed to accept this answer, and Stephanie guessed that she’d been to that town a few times herself.

“If that’s the case,” she took a breath, “Then my usefulness is at its end.”

“You’re not coming with us?” Tim asked.

“No. This seems like your journey. Not mine,” Shiva said, “However, I have one request.”

Stephanie watched as Shiva pulled a long, black case strapped to the side of her backpack. She watched her hand it to Cass, imploring her to take it. Cass held it gently, opening the case and pulling the scaled looking handle of a sword out into the open. Cassandra pulled on the sheath and sure enough, it was Shiva’s sword.

“I can’t take this,” Cass said softly.

“You will,” Shiva reached out, lifting her daughter’s chin to face her, “You’ll take this so that I can defend you. Even if I’m not with you.” 

A loud, blaring alarm sounded through the zone. Stephanie looked at Jason and Barbara who seemed instinctually unhappy with the noise. Barbara gave Shiva a nod, and crawled into the tunnel, with Damian copying the motion and following behind her. Tim lingered a little longer, fumbling with his back pockets and pulling out a stack of green cards. It was the bravest she’d seen Tim in a long while as he walked up to Shiva and put the cards in her hand. All of their ration cards. Without another word he turned and went through the tunnel.

“Cass…” Jason started, but didn’t push her further. It wasn’t as if they’d get another chance to say goodbye to a parent.

Cassandra sheathed the sword, and held it against her chest, before bowing to her mother. Shiva seemed silent for a moment before grabbing her, and pulling her into a final hug. Stephanie figured it was best to give them space. She didn’t want to interrupt. She patted Jason’s chest as she moved past him, and crawled through the tunnel to the other side.

It was a bit of a long crawl, but just a short trip up a rusted ladder brought her out into the thunderstorm. She turned around, waiting to see Jason and Cass coming behind her.

“Patrol up ahead,” Barbara said softly, “We’re going to have to crawl through the rubble. Tim, stay close.”

“I’m not wandering,” Tim assured her.

Stephanie spotted Jason crawling through the tunnel and gestured for him to hurry. She was relieved when Cass followed close behind.

“Patrol up ahead,” Stephanie whispered to them. 

Jason nodded, and moved up by Barbara, the two of them discussing where to go. Stephanie looked over at Cassandra, and reached out for her hand. Cassandra took it with no hesitation. Stephanie gave her a small squeeze and tugged her along.

The ruins of outer Boston were astounding. Tall buildings tilted to one side. Pieces of earth jutting up from the ground. Craters pretty much everywhere. As if a dozen or so Supermen were all fighting each other here. This wasn’t Superman’s doing though. It was people. Men with stars on their shoulders, ordered the bombing of downtown Boston years ago. Just as they had for many other cities. Some way to control the infected, she’d been told. It was doubtful if it truly worked. As far as Stephanie was concerned, the only thing the bombs had done was ensure it was that much harder for outsiders to survive.

They moved fast, making their way through the rubble, and ducking beneath jagged ends of rock to hide from spotlights. The soldiers on the outside were either looking for the infected, or they were actively hunting the family down. Either way, Stephanie didn’t want to interact with them.

“God dammit, they’re everywhere,” Jason hissed as they scurried through the trenches of Boston like rats.

“Just keep going,” Barbara whispered, “This way.”

Barbara took the lead, taking them through broken pipes beneath the rubble of the city. Stephanie had never been this way before. Not for the smuggling routes at least. She watched as Jason took the rear, making sure the others didn’t fall behind. Eventually, one of Barbara’s pipes put them in the dead center of a trench. Stephanie was yanked out of the way of a spotlight and crouched against Cassandra as the flashlight waved back and forth.

“Still no sign of ‘em,” she heard a soldier calling out.

“We might have to break off pursuit,” another said, too close for comfort.

“I heard they’re calling in to head office.”

“You think they’d send a meta-human here? For this?”

“If they resist? Absolutely.”

Stephanie was pulled away before she could hear the tail end of that conversation. They moved. Over the hollowed shells of buildings and past parked FEDRA vehicles. Their luck seemed to be lasting as Stephanie spotted their exit.

A busted sewer pipe, big enough for even a giant bi-pedal crocodile to walk through. The look on Barbara’s face was a positive sign. With any luck, this would lead into downtown. Away from Boston’s green zone, and into the unknown. Soldiers probably wouldn’t pursue them. Or if they tried, they’d attract the wrong kind of attention. All those guns and cars were loud. And the infected could hear just fine.

Barbara dropped down, and quickly disappeared into the tunnel. Tim and Cassandra followed close behind. Behind them, Stephanie could see spot lights swinging back and forth like a red carpet event. Stephanie hoped it didn’t become a red  _ cape  _ event…

“Steph,” Jason hissed at her.

Stephanie jumped down, feeling the impact as Jason caught her and set her down. They wasted no time in rushing into the pipe. But as Stephanie got about halfway through she paused and turned around.

“Damian, come on,” Stephanie beckoned him over.

Damian was standing in the rain, sword half drawn. Almost anticipating something. No one else seemed to stop, and Stephanie quietly made her way back to him. Wondering if he’d spotted something. She’d almost made it outside the pipe when Damian held his hand up at her, searching the sky. Stephanie froze. That wasn’t good.

Damian made a motion for Stephanie to get low, and she backed up into the pipe until she couldn’t see the sky anymore. Just Damian. Damian seemed to wait for a moment longer, and then finally seemed to spot something. To Stephanie’s growing anxiety, Damian didn’t sheath or fully draw his sword. Just stood still.

“Damian.” 

The voice made Stephanie jump in spite of herself.

Damian didn’t seem as unsettled, in fact he was more irritated, “Fly a little higher, why don’t you? I don’t think FEDRA sees you yet.”

Stephanie remained motionless as a pair of red sneakers descended to block Damian from the pipe entrance. They stayed hovering, but Stephanie didn’t have to be a detective to guess who they belonged to. Quite frankly she was happier. Better the son than the father.

“This is where you went?” Superboy asked, sounding reasonably upset, “This is what you’re doing now?”

“This is what  _ you’re  _ doing now?” Damian asked, “Throwing away your safety?”

“Yeah. Because this is  _ super  _ safe,” Stephanie could hear the Superman in his son’s voice, “I heard they found Red Hood in Boston. They’re sending Black Lightning to handle him.”

“Is that so?” Damian’s hand never left his sword, “And you’re here because…”

“Because I know it’s you, Damian! Dad told you. The Bats are gone, but you ran off anyway,” Jon dropped to the ground.

The kid was almost the spitting image of his father now. A little lankier, but you could see those super genes in him. His dark hair was a little longer, matted to his face with rain water. They had the shadow of a beard. Pretty much all of him was soaked. Had he flown that fast to get here? For Damian? Jon Kent moved forward, grabbing Damian by the shoulders.

“I don’t know what you did. I don’t care. Come back with me, Damian, before they find you.  _ Please _ .”

“I can’t.”

“I’ll explain it to dad. You can go back in hiding-”

“Let me rephrase. I  _ won’t  _ be going with you,” Damian pushed Jon away.

There was a moment of silence as thunder rolled overhead. Stephanie didn’t move. She kept her eyes on Damian. If anything, she wasn’t going to dare leave without him. Not after they’d just reunited.

“Do you have any idea how valuable you are?” Jon asked, “You’re the son of Batman. The only one left. You’d just-”

“Oh shut up, Jon,” Damian sheathed his sword, which gave Stephanie a little confidence, “I’m not valuable. If I was, you’d be using me instead of hiding me in your father’s basement.”

“Dad was protecting you!”

“From what?” Damian took a step forward, and Stephanie could see the Bat inside of him. That commanding presence that was scary enough to make even a Kryptonian take a step back. She couldn’t see Jon’s expression, but she could see Damian’s. And it looked as if someone had opened the floor under him, “You knew about it, didn’t you? You knew they were alive.”

“No,” Jon answered, a little too quickly, “No I didn’t- What are you talking about?”

“Your father knew, and he kept it from me.  _ You  _ kept it from me. That’s despicable, Jon. Do you know how many speeches I sat through? The lectures? How family is important. The one thing you need in this world,” Damian shook his head, “Yeah. Family’s important, except when they’re not wearing a giant ‘S’ on their chest.”

“That’s not fair, Damian,” Jon tried to put a hand on his shoulder, “Just let me-”

“I have father’s knuckles in my belt. Don’t make me hurt you,” Damian growled.

Jon seemed to hesitate, but risked holding Damian by the shoulder, “Come back with me. Please.”

Damian reached up slowly, and pushed Jon’s hand away, “That possibility is long dead.”

“I can’t let you leave,” Jon said, “Where are you even going? Boston will kill you.”

“He’s going with us.”

Stephanie found her voice. Listening to all that was getting on her nerves, and they were wasting time. She walked out into the rain, her hand already deep in the pocket of her utility belt. She didn’t have kryptonite, but this kid was half human. He had to bleed some way, right? Now that she had Jon’s attention she could see Damian’s anger crack a little.

She certainly didn’t know the full story, only what she’d heard. But...something like that. Damian had had to go so long without knowing. Because  _ Superman  _ of all people had lied to him. Thinking for twelve years that everyone who you’d ever cared for had died or left you… Stephanie wanted to scoop Damian into her arms. Banish that thought for good.

“I-” Jon looked at her with wide eyes, “You  _ are  _ alive.”

“We’re good at hiding,” Stephanie said, and held out her hand for Damian, “Kind of our signature.”

Damian seemed to jump at the chance to leave, moving towards her. Stephanie grabbed his hand before he could move past her. She squeezed him so tight her knuckles turned white. Damian said nothing to her, but she felt him returning the squeeze ever slightly.

“Now,” Stephanie narrowed her eyes, “We’re gonna go. And you’re going to let us. If this guy really means something to you,” she raised her hand, still holding onto Damian.

Jon was silent for a moment, but slowly rose off the ground. Stephanie was sure if he had a cape he’d be a little more imposing. But here in the rain, he just looked...sad.

“Where are you going? Tell me that at least,” Jon floated a little higher.

Stephanie didn’t say anything, but Damian did.

“Colorado,” Damian didn’t look back, “Give Lois my thanks, won’t you?”

Jon said nothing, just folded his arms across his chest.

“Tell you father,” Damian added, “If I see him again-”

“Yeah,” Jon said, “I know.”

Damian let out a shaky breath and started walking, leading Stephanie away. As they disappeared into the pipe she heard Superboy call after them.

“Don’t die.”

“Tt,” Damian squeezed Stephanie’s hand, “Don’t die.”


End file.
